Scottie Barnes vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Scottie Barnes, 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 / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

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.

Scottie Barnes played 5 years in the NBA, 12 less than James Harden, who played 17. Scottie Barnes had the first of his seasons in 2021-22, 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.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Scottie Barnes 5 1 2021-22 to 2025-26
James Harden 17 16 2009-10 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5

Rookie Season

Scottie Barnes James Harden
Season 2021-222009-10
Team Toronto RaptorsOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
-Achievement All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs Raptors Lost East Conf 1st RdThunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes 74 35.4 15.3 2.6 4.9 7.5 3.5 1.1 0.7 1.8 2.6 6.2 12.6 .492 0.8 2.6 .301 2.1 2.9 .735
difference:+2+12.5+5.4+2.0+2.3+4.3+1.7+0.4-0.4+3.1+5.0+.089+0.4+0.7+.074+0.5+0.3+.073
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes 4 33.3 12.8 1.8 7.3 9.0 4.3 1.0 0.3 1.3 3.0 4.5 10.5 .429 0.5 3.0 .167 3.3 4.0 .813
difference:+2+13.3+5.1+1.6+5.0+6.5+2.5+0.1-0.8-0.7+2.5+5.3+.042+0.5+0.3+.208+0.6+0.8+.029
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

Scottie Barnes James Harden
Season 2022-232010-11
Team Toronto RaptorsOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayThunder Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes 77 34.8 15.3 2.3 4.3 6.6 4.8 1.1 0.8 2.0 2.2 6.0 13.2 .456 0.8 2.9 .281 2.5 3.2 .772
difference:+5+8.1+3.1+1.8+1.7+3.5+2.7+0.5-0.7-0.3+2.4+4.9+.020+0.6+1.1+.068+1.0+1.0+.071
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes DNP------ --- ----------
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

Scottie Barnes James Harden
Season 2023-242011-12
Team Toronto RaptorsOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards -Achievement Sixth Man of the Year
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayThunder Lost NBA Finals
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes 60 34.9 19.9 2.4 5.9 8.2 6.1 1.3 1.5 2.8 2.0 7.5 15.7 .475 1.7 4.9 .341 3.3 4.2 .781
difference:+2+3.5+3.1+1.9+2.3+4.1+2.4+0.3+1.3-0.6-0.4+2.5+5.6+.016+0.1+0.2+.049+1.7+1.8+.065
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes DNP------ --- ----------
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

Scottie Barnes James Harden
Season 2024-252012-13
Team Toronto RaptorsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes 65 32.8 19.3 1.7 6.0 7.7 5.8 1.4 1.0 2.8 1.7 7.3 16.4 .446 1.2 4.3 .271 3.5 4.6 .755
difference:+13+5.5+6.6+0.9+1.9+2.8+0.4+0.5-1.0-0.6+0.2+0.7+.008+1.1+1.9+.097+5.1+5.6+.096
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes DNP------ --- ----------
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

Scottie Barnes James Harden
Season 2025-262013-14
Team Toronto RaptorsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes 28 33.9 19.8 2.2 5.8 8.0 5.2 1.4 1.6 2.6 3.1 7.7 15.1 .508 1.4 3.6 .386 3.0 3.7 .817
difference:+45+4.1+5.6+1.4+1.9+3.3+0.9+0.2+1.2-1.0-0.7+0.2+1.4+.052+1.0+3.0+.020+4.9+5.4+.049
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 TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Scottie Barnes 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

Additional Years

* James Harden played 12 seasons more than Scottie Barnes in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 6 to 17, from 2015 to 2026—James Harden played in 11 Playoffs.

In those 12 extra years over Scottie Barnes, James Harden got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Season MVP
Achievement 5 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 All-NBA Third Team
Achievement 3 Scoring Leader
Achievement 2 Assists Leader
Achievement 9 All-Star Game