Luka Doncic vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Luka Doncic, 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.

Luka Doncic played 7 years in the NBA, 9 less than James Harden, who played 16. Luka Doncic had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, while James Harden had his rookie season in 2009-10. 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
	Luka Doncic	James Harden
Season	2018-19	2009-10
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	72	32.2	21.2	1.2	6.6	7.8	6.0	1.1	0.3	3.4	1.9	7.0	16.5	.427	2.3	7.1	.327	4.8	6.7	.713
difference:	+4	+9.3	+11.3	+0.6	+4.0	+4.6	+4.2			-2.0	-0.7	+3.9	+8.9	+.024	+1.1	+3.8	+.048	+2.2	+3.5	+.095
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 2
	Luka Doncic	James Harden
Season	2019-20	2010-11
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	61	33.6	28.8	1.3	8.1	9.4	8.8	1.0	0.2	4.3	2.5	9.5	20.6	.463	2.8	8.9	.316	7.0	9.2	.758
difference:	+21	+6.9	+16.6	+0.8	+5.5	+6.3	+6.7	+0.1	+0.1	-3.0		+5.9	+12.3	+.027	+1.4	+4.9	+.033	+3.5	+5.0	+.085
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	6	35.8	31.0	0.7	9.2	9.8	8.7	1.2	0.5	5.2	2.8	10.7	21.3	.500	2.7	7.3	.364	7.0	10.7	.656
difference:	+11	+4.2	+18.0	+0.1	+4.4	+4.4	+5.1		+0.3	-3.6		+6.8	+13.1	+.025	+1.3	+2.8	+.061	+3.1	+6.0	+.169
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

Season 3
	Luka Doncic	James Harden
Season	2020-21	2011-12
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	Sixth Man of the Year
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Thunder Lost NBA Finals

more >>

3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	66	34.3	27.7	0.8	7.2	8.0	8.6	1.0	0.5	4.3	2.3	9.8	20.5	.479	2.9	8.3	.350	5.2	7.1	.730
difference:	+4	+2.9	+10.9	+0.3	+3.6	+3.9	+4.9		+0.3	-2.1	-0.1	+4.8	+10.4	+.012	+1.1	+3.6	+.040	+0.2	+1.1	+.116
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	7	40.1	35.7	0.6	7.3	7.9	10.3	1.3	0.4	4.6	2.4	13.7	28.0	.490	4.4	10.9	.408	3.9	7.3	.529
difference:	+13	+8.6	+19.4	+0.1	+2.8	+2.8	+6.9	+0.3	+0.3	-2.5	-1.0	+9.0	+17.3	+.055	+2.8	+7.0	+.002	+1.5	+1.0	+.328
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

Season 4
	Luka Doncic	James Harden
Season	2021-22	2012-13
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	65	35.4	28.4	0.9	8.3	9.1	8.7	1.2	0.6	4.5	2.2	9.9	21.6	.457	3.1	8.8	.353	5.6	7.5	.744
difference:	+13	+2.9	+2.5	+0.1	+4.2	+4.2	+2.9	+0.6	+0.1	-0.7	-0.1	+2.4	+4.5	+.019	+0.8	+2.6	+.015	+3.0	+2.7	+.107
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	15	36.8	31.7	0.7	9.1	9.8	6.4	1.8	0.6	3.9	2.9	10.7	23.5	.455	3.4	9.9	.345	6.9	9.0	.770
difference:	+9	+3.7	+5.4	+0.1	+3.3	+3.1	+1.9	+0.2	+0.4	-0.6	-0.1	+3.2	+4.3	+.064	+0.9	+2.6	+.004	+1.9	+2.0	+.033
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

Season 5
	Luka Doncic	James Harden
Season	2022-23	2013-14
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	66	36.2	32.4	0.8	7.8	8.6	8.0	1.4	0.5	3.6	2.5	10.9	22.0	.496	2.8	8.2	.342	7.8	10.5	.742
difference:	+7	+1.8	+7.0		+3.9	+3.9	+1.9	+0.2	+0.1		-0.1	+3.4	+5.5	+.040	+0.4	+1.6	+.024	+0.1	+1.4	+.124
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 6
	Luka Doncic	James Harden
Season	2023-24	2014-15
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	All-NBA First Team
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	70	37.5	33.9	0.8	8.4	9.2	9.8	1.4	0.5	4.0	2.1	11.5	23.6	.487	4.1	10.6	.382	6.8	8.7	.786
difference:	+11	+0.7	+6.5	+0.1	+3.7	+3.5	+2.8	+0.5	+0.2		-0.5	+3.5	+5.5	+.047	+1.5	+3.7	+.007	+2.0	+1.5	+.082
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	22	40.9	28.9	0.7	8.7	9.5	8.1	1.9	0.4	4.1	2.5	10.2	22.9	.446	3.1	9.6	.322	5.3	7.0	.765
difference:	+5	+3.5	+1.7		+3.7	+3.8	+0.6	+0.3		-0.4	-0.4	+2.6	+5.6	+.007	+0.7	+3.3	+.061	+4.3	+3.5	+.151
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

Season 7
	Luka Doncic	James Harden
Season	2024-25	2015-16
Team	Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	50	35.4	28.2	0.8	7.4	8.2	7.7	1.8	0.4	3.6	2.5	9.2	20.5	.450	3.5	9.6	.368	6.2	7.9	.782
difference:	+32	+2.7	+0.8		+2.1	+2.1	+0.2	+0.1	+0.2	-1.0	-0.3	+0.5	+0.8	+.011	+0.6	+1.6	+.009	+2.6	+2.3	+.078
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Luka Doncic	5	41.6	30.2	0.4	6.6	7.0	5.8	1.0	0.6	4.0	3.2	9.4	20.8	.452	3.2	9.2	.348	8.2	9.2	.891
difference:		+3.0	+3.6	+1.0	+2.8	+1.8	+1.8	+1.4	+0.4	-1.2	-0.6	+1.2	+0.8	+.042	+0.6	+0.8	+.038	+0.6	+0.2	+.047
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

Additional Years
* James Harden played 9 seasons more than Luka Doncic in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 16, from 2017 to 2025—James Harden played in 9 Playoffs. In those 9 extra years over Luka Doncic, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 4 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 3 Scoring Leader 2 Assists Leader 7 All-Star Game