James Harden vs. Tom Heinsohn Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tom Heinsohn and James Harden, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

James Harden played 16 years in the NBA, 7 more than Tom Heinsohn, who played 9. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Tom Heinsohn had his rookie season in 1956-57. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
James Harden	16	16	2009-10 to 2024-25
Tom Heinsohn	9	9	1956-57 to 1964-65

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2009-10	1956-57
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	76	22.9	9.9	0.6	2.6	3.2	1.8	1.1	0.3	1.4	2.6	3.1	7.6	.403	1.2	3.3	.375	2.6	3.2	.808
difference:	+4	+7.0	+6.3			+6.6	+0.2				-1.6	+3.1	+8.0	+.006				+1.2	+1.6	+.018
Tom Heinsohn	72	29.9	16.2	-	-	9.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.2	6.2	15.6	.397	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	.790

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	20.0	7.7	0.2	2.3	2.5	1.8	1.0	0.2	0.5	2.3	2.0	5.2	.387	1.0	2.7	.375	2.7	3.2	.842
difference:	+4	+17.0	+15.2			+9.2	+0.2				-1.7	+7.0	+17.9	+.003				+2.2	+3.7	+.132
Tom Heinsohn	10	37.0	22.9	-	-	11.7	2.0	-	-	-	4.0	9.0	23.1	.390	-	-	-	4.9	6.9	.710


Season 2
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2010-11	1957-58
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost NBA Finals

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	82	26.7	12.2	0.5	2.6	3.1	2.1	1.1	0.3	1.3	2.5	3.6	8.3	.436	1.4	4.0	.349	3.5	4.2	.843
difference:	+13	+5.3	+5.6			+7.1	+0.3				-1.5	+3.2	+9.5	+.054				+0.8	+1.5	+.097
Tom Heinsohn	69	32.0	17.8	-	-	10.2	1.8	-	-	-	4.0	6.8	17.8	.382	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	.746

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	17	31.6	13.0	0.6	4.8	5.4	3.6	1.2	0.8	1.6	2.8	3.9	8.2	.475	1.4	4.5	.303	3.9	4.7	.825
difference:	+6	+0.1	+4.5			+5.4	+2.0				-1.9	+2.3	+9.4	+.124				+1.2	+1.8	+.047
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.7	17.5	-	-	10.8	1.6	-	-	-	4.7	6.2	17.6	.351	-	-	-	5.1	6.5	.778


Season 3
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2011-12	1958-59
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	62	31.4	16.8	0.5	3.6	4.1	3.7	1.0	0.2	2.2	2.4	5.0	10.1	.491	1.8	4.7	.390	5.0	6.0	.846
difference:	+4	+0.3	+2.0			+5.6	+1.2				-1.7	+2.0	+8.0	+.101				+0.3	+0.1	+.048
Tom Heinsohn	66	31.7	18.8	-	-	9.7	2.5	-	-	-	4.1	7.0	18.1	.390	-	-	-	4.7	5.9	.798

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	20	31.5	16.3	0.7	4.5	5.1	3.4	1.6	0.1	2.1	3.4	4.7	10.7	.435	1.6	3.9	.410	5.4	6.3	.857
difference:	+9	+0.1	+3.6			+3.8	+0.5				-0.3	+3.6	+9.3	+.021				+2.0	+1.2	+.196
Tom Heinsohn	11	31.6	19.9	-	-	8.9	2.9	-	-	-	3.7	8.3	20.0	.414	-	-	-	3.4	5.1	.661


Season 4
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2012-13	1959-60
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	78	38.3	25.9	0.8	4.1	4.9	5.8	1.8	0.5	3.8	2.3	7.5	17.1	.438	2.3	6.2	.368	8.6	10.2	.851
difference:	+3	+6.0	+4.2			+5.7	+3.5				-1.4	+1.5	+4.1	+.015				+4.8	+5.1	+.118
Tom Heinsohn	75	32.3	21.7	-	-	10.6	2.3	-	-	-	3.7	9.0	21.2	.423	-	-	-	3.8	5.1	.733

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	40.5	26.3	0.8	5.8	6.7	4.5	2.0	1.0	4.5	3.0	7.5	19.2	.391	2.5	7.3	.341	8.8	11.0	.803
difference:	+7	+8.0	+4.5			+3.0	+2.4				-1.1	+1.1	+1.3	+.028				+4.2	+4.8	+.053
Tom Heinsohn	13	32.5	21.8	-	-	9.7	2.1	-	-	-	4.1	8.6	20.5	.419	-	-	-	4.6	6.2	.750


Season 5
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2013-14	1960-61
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	73	38.0	25.4	0.8	3.9	4.7	6.1	1.6	0.4	3.6	2.4	7.5	16.5	.456	2.4	6.6	.366	7.9	9.1	.866
difference:	+1	+7.5	+4.1			+5.2	+4.2				-1.1	+1.0	+4.7	+.056				+3.5	+3.4	+.099
Tom Heinsohn	74	30.5	21.3	-	-	9.9	1.9	-	-	-	3.5	8.5	21.2	.400	-	-	-	4.4	5.7	.767

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	43.8	26.8	0.8	3.8	4.7	5.8	2.0	0.2	3.5	3.5	8.3	22.2	.376	2.7	9.0	.296	7.5	8.3	.900
difference:	+4	+14.7	+7.1			+5.2	+3.8				-0.1	+0.1	+2.1	+.032				+4.2	+4.0	+.133
Tom Heinsohn	10	29.1	19.7	-	-	9.9	2.0	-	-	-	3.6	8.2	20.1	.408	-	-	-	3.3	4.3	.767


Season 6
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2014-15	1961-62
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	81	36.8	27.4	0.9	4.7	5.7	7.0	1.9	0.7	4.0	2.6	8.0	18.1	.440	2.6	6.9	.375	8.8	10.2	.868
difference:	+2	+6.6	+5.3			+3.8	+4.9				-0.9	+0.8	+2.3	+.011				+4.3	+4.7	+.049
Tom Heinsohn	79	30.2	22.1	-	-	9.5	2.1	-	-	-	3.5	8.8	20.4	.429	-	-	-	4.5	5.5	.819

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	17	37.4	27.2	0.7	5.0	5.7	7.5	1.6	0.4	4.5	2.9	7.6	17.3	.439	2.4	6.3	.383	9.6	10.5	.916
difference:	+3	+5.6	+6.5			+2.5	+5.1				-1.2	+0.7	+3.5	+.040				+5.5	+5.1	+.153
Tom Heinsohn	14	31.8	20.7	-	-	8.2	2.4	-	-	-	4.1	8.3	20.8	.399	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	.763


Season 7
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2015-16	1962-63
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	82	38.1	29.0	0.8	5.3	6.1	7.5	1.7	0.6	4.6	2.8	8.7	19.7	.439	2.9	8.0	.359	8.8	10.2	.860
difference:	+6	+11.7	+10.1			+1.4	+6.2				-0.8	+1.5	+2.6	+.016				+4.3	+4.8	+.025
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.4	18.9	-	-	7.5	1.3	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.1	.423	-	-	-	4.5	5.4	.835

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	5	38.6	26.6	1.4	3.8	5.2	7.6	2.4	0.2	5.2	2.6	8.2	20.0	.410	2.6	8.4	.310	7.6	9.0	.844
difference:	+8	+6.8	+1.9			+3.7	+6.4				-1.6	+1.3	+0.8	+.046				+1.8	+1.5	+.079
Tom Heinsohn	13	31.8	24.7	-	-	8.9	1.2	-	-	-	4.2	9.5	20.8	.456	-	-	-	5.8	7.5	.765


Season 8
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2016-17	1963-64
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	81	36.4	29.1	1.2	7.0	8.1	11.2	1.5	0.5	5.7	2.7	8.3	18.9	.440	3.2	9.3	.347	9.2	10.9	.847
difference:	+5	+9.6	+12.6			+2.0	+8.8				-0.8	+1.9	+2.8	+.042				+5.5	+6.4	+.020
Tom Heinsohn	76	26.8	16.5	-	-	6.1	2.4	-	-	-	3.5	6.4	16.1	.398	-	-	-	3.7	4.5	.827

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	11	37.0	28.5	0.6	4.8	5.5	8.5	1.9	0.5	5.4	3.9	8.2	19.8	.413	2.9	10.5	.278	9.2	10.5	.878
difference:	+1	+6.2	+11.1			+2.5	+5.9				-0.3	+1.2	+1.8	+.024				+5.8	+6.3	+.068
Tom Heinsohn	10	30.8	17.4	-	-	8.0	2.6	-	-	-	3.6	7.0	18.0	.389	-	-	-	3.4	4.2	.810


Season 9
	James Harden	Tom Heinsohn
Season	2017-18	1964-65
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	72	35.4	30.4	0.6	4.8	5.4	8.8	1.8	0.7	4.4	2.3	9.0	20.1	.449	3.7	10.0	.367	8.7	10.1	.858
difference:	+5	+9.9	+16.8			+0.6	+6.5				-1.5	+3.6	+5.9	+.066				+6.0	+6.7	+.063
Tom Heinsohn	67	25.5	13.6	-	-	6.0	2.3	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	14.2	.383	-	-	-	2.7	3.4	.795

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	17	36.5	28.6	0.8	4.4	5.2	6.8	2.2	0.6	3.8	2.7	9.3	22.6	.410	3.1	10.2	.299	6.9	7.8	.887
difference:	+5	+13.5	+15.9			+1.8	+4.9				-1.1	+3.8	+7.5	+.045				+5.2	+5.1	+.262
Tom Heinsohn	12	23.0	12.7	-	-	7.0	1.9	-	-	-	3.8	5.5	15.1	.365	-	-	-	1.7	2.7	.625


Additional Years
* James Harden played 7 seasons more than Tom Heinsohn in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 10 to 16, from 2019 to 2025—James Harden played in 7 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Tom Heinsohn, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 Scoring Leader 1 Assists Leader 5 All-Star Game

James Harden vs. Tom Heinsohn Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Tom Heinsohn and James Harden, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years