James Harden vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming 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.

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 17 years in the NBA, 9 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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.

Rookie Season
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2009-10	2002-03
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did not play

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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:	+6	+6.1	+3.6	+1.8	+3.2	+5.0	+0.1	+0.7	+1.5	-0.7	-0.2	+1.8	+2.2	+.095	+1.2	+3.3		+1.1	+1.3	+.003
Yao Ming	82	29.0	13.5	2.4	5.8	8.2	1.7	0.4	1.8	2.1	2.8	4.9	9.8	.498	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	4.5	.811
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2010-11	2003-04
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:		+6.1	+5.3	+1.9	+4.0	+5.9	+0.6	+0.8	+1.6	-1.2	-0.8	+2.9	+4.2	+.086	+1.4	+4.0		+0.9	+1.2	+.034
Yao Ming	82	32.8	17.5	2.4	6.6	9.0	1.5	0.3	1.9	2.5	3.3	6.5	12.5	.522	0.0	0.0	-	4.4	5.4	.809
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:	+12	+6.0	+2.0	+1.6	+0.4	+2.0	+1.8	+0.8	+0.6	-1.0	-1.2	+2.3	+5.4	+.019	+1.4	+4.5		+1.3	+1.3	+.060
Yao Ming	5	37.6	15.0	2.2	5.2	7.4	1.8	0.4	1.4	2.6	4.0	6.2	13.6	.456	0.0	0.0	-	2.6	3.4	.765

Season 3
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2011-12	2004-05
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+18	+0.8	+1.5	+2.1	+2.2	+4.3	+2.9	+0.6	+1.8	-0.3	-1.3	+1.7	+2.1	+.061	+1.8	+4.7		+0.1	+0.2	+.063
Yao Ming	80	30.6	18.3	2.6	5.8	8.4	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.5	3.7	6.7	12.2	.552	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	6.2	.783
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:	+13	+0.4	+5.1	+2.6	+0.1	+2.6	+2.7	+1.3	+2.6	-0.6	-1.0	+3.2	+1.3	+.220	+1.6	+3.9		+0.3	+1.6	+.130
Yao Ming	7	31.9	21.4	3.3	4.4	7.7	0.7	0.3	2.7	2.7	4.4	7.9	12.0	.655	0.0	0.0	-	5.7	7.9	.727

Season 4
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2012-13	2005-06
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did not play

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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:	+21	+4.1	+3.6	+1.8	+3.5	+5.3	+4.3	+1.3	+1.1	-1.2	-1.1	+0.7	+1.3	+.081	+2.3	+6.2		+2.7	+3.3	+.002
Yao Ming	57	34.2	22.3	2.6	7.6	10.2	1.5	0.5	1.6	2.6	3.4	8.2	15.8	.519	0.0	0.0	-	5.9	6.9	.853
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2013-14	2006-07
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+25	+4.2	+0.4	+1.3	+3.4	+4.7	+4.1	+1.2	+1.6	-0.1	-0.9	+1.3	+0.6	+.060	+2.4	+6.6		+0.5	+0.5	+.004
Yao Ming	48	33.8	25.0	2.1	7.3	9.4	2.0	0.4	2.0	3.5	3.3	8.8	17.1	.516	0.0	0.0	-	7.4	8.6	.862
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:	+1	+6.7	+1.7	+2.5	+3.2	+5.6	+4.9	+1.9	+0.5	-1.2	-0.4	+0.4	+4.3	+.064	+2.7	+9.0		+1.9	+2.4	+.020
Yao Ming	7	37.1	25.1	3.3	7.0	10.3	0.9	0.1	0.7	4.7	3.9	7.9	17.9	.440	0.0	0.0	-	9.4	10.7	.880

Season 6
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2014-15	2007-08
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Did not play

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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:	+26	+0.4	+5.4	+2.2	+3.0	+5.1	+4.7	+1.4	+1.3	-0.7	-0.5	+0.1	+2.6	+.067	+2.6	+6.9		+2.5	+2.8	+.018
Yao Ming	55	37.2	22.0	3.1	7.7	10.8	2.3	0.5	2.0	3.3	3.1	7.9	15.5	.507	0.0	0.0	-	6.3	7.4	.850
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2015-16	2008-09
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+5	+4.5	+9.3	+1.8	+1.9	+3.8	+5.7	+1.3	+1.3	-1.6	-0.5	+1.3	+6.3	+.109	+2.9	+8.0		+3.9	+4.5	+.006
Yao Ming	77	33.6	19.7	2.6	7.2	9.9	1.8	0.4	1.9	3.0	3.3	7.4	13.4	.548	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	5.7	.866
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:	+4	+2.7	+9.5	+0.7	+5.0	+5.7	+6.6	+2.0	+1.0	-3.3	-0.4	+2.2	+9.0	+.135	+2.6	+8.4		+2.5	+3.3	+.058
Yao Ming	9	35.9	17.1	2.1	8.8	10.9	1.0	0.4	1.2	1.9	3.0	6.0	11.0	.545	0.0	0.0	-	5.1	5.7	.902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8
	James Harden	Yao Ming
Season	2016-17	2010-11
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did not play

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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:	+76	+18.2	+18.9	+0.2	+3.0	+2.7	+10.4	+1.5	+1.1	-4.3	-0.1	+4.7	+11.5	+.046	+3.2	+9.3		+6.2	+7.7	+.091
Yao Ming	5	18.2	10.2	1.4	4.0	5.4	0.8	0.0	1.6	1.4	2.6	3.6	7.4	.486	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.938
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
Yao Ming	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* James Harden played 9 seasons more than Yao Ming in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 9 to 17, from 2018 to 2026—James Harden played in 8 Playoffs. In those 9 extra years over Yao Ming, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 3 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 Scoring Leader 1 Assists Leader 6 All-Star Game