Steven Adams vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Steven Adams, 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.

Steven Adams played 11 years in the NBA, 5 less than James Harden, who played 16. Steven Adams had the first of his seasons in 2013-14, 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
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2013-14	2009-10
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Steven Adams	81	14.8	3.3	1.8	2.3	4.1	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.9	2.5	1.1	2.3	.503	0.0	0.0	-	1.0	1.7	.581
difference:	+5	+8.1	+6.6	+1.2	+0.3	+0.9	+1.3	+0.6	+0.4	-0.5	-0.1	+2.0	+5.3	+.100	+1.2	+3.3		+1.6	+1.5	+.227
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		%
Steven Adams	18	18.4	3.9	1.2	2.9	4.1	0.2	0.1	1.3	0.6	2.7	1.7	2.5	.689	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.3	.348
difference:	+12	+1.6	+3.8	+1.0	+0.6	+1.6	+1.6	+0.9	+1.1	-0.1	-0.4	+0.3	+2.7	+.302	+1.0	+2.7		+2.3	+1.9	+.494
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 3
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2015-16	2011-12
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Thunder Lost NBA Finals

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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		%
Steven Adams	80	25.2	8.0	2.7	3.9	6.7	0.8	0.5	1.1	1.1	2.8	3.3	5.3	.613	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.5	.582
difference:	+18	+6.2	+8.8	+2.2	+0.3	+2.6	+2.9	+0.5	+0.9	-1.1	-0.4	+1.7	+4.8	+.122	+1.8	+4.7		+3.6	+3.5	+.264
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		%
Steven Adams	18	30.7	10.1	3.4	6.1	9.5	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.9	3.1	3.8	6.2	.613	0.0	0.1	.000	2.6	4.1	.630
difference:	+2	+0.8	+6.2	+2.7	+1.6	+4.4	+2.7	+1.1	+0.7	-1.2	-0.3	+0.9	+4.5	+.178	+1.6	+3.8	+.410	+2.8	+2.2	+.227
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
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2016-17	2012-13
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Steven Adams	80	29.9	11.3	3.5	4.2	7.7	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.8	2.4	4.7	8.2	.571	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.2	.611
difference:	+2	+8.4	+14.6	+2.7	+0.1	+2.8	+4.7	+0.7	+0.5	-2.0	-0.1	+2.8	+8.9	+.133	+2.3	+6.2		+6.6	+7.0	+.240
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		%
Steven Adams	5	31.4	8.0	3.4	3.4	6.8	1.4	1.2	1.8	0.8	2.8	3.6	5.6	.643	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	2.2	.364
difference:	+1	+9.1	+18.3	+2.6	+2.4	+0.1	+3.1	+0.8	+0.8	-3.7	-0.2	+3.9	+13.6	+.252	+2.5	+7.3		+8.0	+8.8	+.439
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
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2017-18	2013-14
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder 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		%
Steven Adams	76	32.7	13.9	5.1	4.0	9.0	1.2	1.2	1.0	1.7	2.8	5.9	9.4	.629	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	3.8	.559
difference:	+3	+5.3	+11.5	+4.3	+0.1	+4.3	+4.9	+0.4	+0.6	-1.9	-0.4	+1.6	+7.1	+.173	+2.4	+6.6		+5.8	+5.3	+.307
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		%
Steven Adams	6	33.3	10.5	3.2	4.3	7.5	1.5	0.7	0.7	0.7	2.5	4.5	7.7	.587	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	2.2	.692
difference:		+10.5	+16.3	+2.4	+0.5	+2.8	+4.3	+1.3	+0.5	-2.8	-1.0	+3.8	+14.5	+.211	+2.7	+9.0		+6.0	+6.1	+.208
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
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2018-19	2014-15
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Steven Adams	80	33.4	13.9	4.9	4.6	9.5	1.6	1.5	1.0	1.7	2.6	6.0	10.1	.595	0.0	0.0	-	1.8	3.7	.500
difference:	+1	+3.4	+13.5	+4.0	+0.1	+3.8	+5.4	+0.4	+0.3	-2.3		+2.0	+8.0	+.155	+2.6	+6.9		+7.0	+6.5	+.368
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		%
Steven Adams	5	31.8	11.8	2.4	4.8	7.2	1.4	1.0	1.0	1.8	2.6	5.6	8.4	.667	0.0	0.2	.000	0.6	1.6	.375
difference:	+12	+5.6	+15.4	+1.7	+0.2	+1.5	+6.1	+0.6	+0.6	-2.7	-0.3	+2.0	+8.9	+.228	+2.4	+6.1	+.383	+9.0	+8.9	+.541
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
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2019-20	2015-16
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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		%
Steven Adams	63	26.7	10.9	3.3	6.0	9.3	2.3	0.8	1.1	1.5	1.9	4.5	7.6	.592	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.2	.582
difference:	+19	+11.4	+18.1	+2.5	+0.7	+3.2	+5.2	+0.9	+0.5	-3.1	-0.9	+4.2	+12.1	+.153	+2.9	+8.0		+6.9	+7.0	+.278
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		%
Steven Adams	7	30.0	10.1	4.9	6.7	11.6	1.3	0.6	0.3	2.3	1.4	4.4	7.4	.596	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	2.9	.450
difference:	+2	+8.6	+16.5	+3.5	+2.9	+6.4	+6.3	+1.8	+0.1	-2.9	-1.2	+3.8	+12.6	+.186	+2.6	+8.3	+.310	+6.3	+6.1	+.394
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

Season 8
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2020-21	2016-17
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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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		%
Steven Adams	58	27.7	7.6	3.7	5.2	8.9	1.9	0.9	0.7	1.3	1.9	3.3	5.3	.614	0.0	0.1	.000	1.0	2.3	.444
difference:	+23	+8.7	+21.5	+2.5	+1.8	+0.8	+9.3	+0.6	+0.2	-4.4	-0.8	+5.0	+13.6	+.174	+3.2	+9.2	+.347	+8.2	+8.6	+.403
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steven Adams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 9
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2021-22	2017-18
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Grizzlies Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

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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		%
Steven Adams	76	26.3	6.9	4.6	5.4	10.0	3.4	0.9	0.8	1.5	2.0	2.8	5.1	.547	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	2.6	.543
difference:	+4	+9.1	+23.5	+4.0	+0.6	+4.6	+5.4	+0.9	+0.1	-2.9	-0.3	+6.2	+15.0	+.098	+3.7	+10.0		+7.3	+7.5	+.315
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steven Adams	7	16.3	3.4	2.1	4.3	6.4	2.1	0.1	0.1	0.6	1.7	1.3	3.0	.429	0.0	0.0	-	0.9	1.6	.545
difference:	+10	+20.2	+25.2	+1.3	+0.1	+1.2	+4.7	+2.1	+0.5	-3.2	-1.0	+8.0	+19.6	+.019	+3.1	+10.2		+6.0	+6.2	+.342
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

Season 10
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2022-23	2018-19
Team	Memphis Grizzlies	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steven Adams	42	27.0	8.6	5.1	6.5	11.5	2.3	0.9	1.1	1.9	2.3	3.7	6.3	.597	0.0	0.0	-	1.1	3.1	.364
difference:	+36	+9.8	+27.5	+4.3	+0.7	+4.9	+5.2	+1.1	+0.4	-3.1	-0.8	+7.1	+18.2	+.155	+4.8	+13.2		+8.6	+7.9	+.515
James Harden	78	36.8	36.1	0.8	5.8	6.6	7.5	2.0	0.7	5.0	3.1	10.8	24.5	.442	4.8	13.2	.368	9.7	11.0	.879
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steven Adams	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	11	38.5	31.6	0.8	6.0	6.8	6.6	2.2	0.9	4.6	3.7	9.9	24.0	.413	4.4	12.5	.350	7.5	8.9	.837

Note: Steven Adams didn't play in 2023-24.

Season 11
	Steven Adams	James Harden
Season	2024-25	2019-20
Team	Houston Rockets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis

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11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steven Adams	58	13.7	3.9	2.9	2.8	5.6	1.1	0.4	0.5	0.9	1.0	1.6	2.9	.545	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	1.6	.462
difference:	+10	+22.8	+30.4	+1.9	+2.7	+1.0	+6.4	+1.4	+0.4	-3.6	-2.3	+8.3	+19.4	+.101	+4.4	+12.4		+9.5	+10.2	+.403
James Harden	68	36.5	34.3	1.0	5.5	6.6	7.5	1.8	0.9	4.5	3.3	9.9	22.3	.444	4.4	12.4	.355	10.2	11.8	.865
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Steven Adams	7	22.1	5.7	3.3	3.3	6.6	0.6	0.4	1.1	0.7	1.0	1.7	2.9	.600	0.0	0.0	-	2.3	4.3	.533
difference:	+5	+15.2	+23.9	+2.3	+1.3	+1.0	+7.1	+1.1	+0.3	-3.1	-2.6	+7.4	+16.1	+.122	+3.3	+9.8		+5.9	+5.4	+.312
James Harden	12	37.3	29.6	1.0	4.6	5.6	7.7	1.5	0.8	3.8	3.6	9.1	19.0	.478	3.3	9.8	.333	8.2	9.7	.845

Additional Years
* James Harden played 5 seasons more than Steven Adams in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 16, from 2021 to 2025—James Harden played in 5 Playoffs. In those 5 extra years over Steven Adams, James Harden got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Third Team 1 Assists Leader 3 All-Star Game