Jalen Brunson vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and Jalen Brunson to determine who has the better numbers. Here you can compare their career totals, points per game, games of 40+ points, 50+, etc. and their year-by-year scoring averages side by side, both in the Regular Season and Playoffs.
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
James Harden is among the NBA's all-time leaders in points and also has one of the highest career averages in league history, and here we compare his scoring stats with those recorded by Jalen Brunson.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that James Harden scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Jalen Brunson has a better scoring average in the postseason. However, we won't stop there and we'll go into detail to analyze what these statistics are made up of, from how many games they had in each threshold (30+ points, 40+, 50+, etc.) to their season-by-season scoring averages.
On this page we compare: |
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Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 16 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 6 points more than Jalen Brunson in his 7 seasons (24.1 points against 18.1), and he also scored a total of 18,866 points more (27,687 vs. 8,821).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Jalen Brunson | 18.1 | 7 | |
| James Harden | 24.1 | +6.0 | 16 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Jalen Brunson | 8,821 | 7 | |
| James Harden | 27,687 | +18,866 | 16 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Jalen Brunson | 0 | |
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Jalen Brunson has a better career point average than James Harden (+2.9 points per game) while James Harden scored more points (+2,194).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Jalen Brunson | 25.4 | +2.9 | 5 |
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Jalen Brunson | 1,701 | 5 | |
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,194 | 16 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 1 | |||
| James Harden | 4 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 202 | |||
| James Harden | 736 | +534 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 373 | |||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +680 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 474 | |||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +676 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 13 | +12 | ||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 48 | |||
| James Harden | 101 | +53 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 61 | |||
| James Harden | 155 | +94 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 67 | |||
| James Harden | 170 | +103 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 18.1 | 6.7 | 13.6 | 48.9 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 38.9 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 82.3 | 7 | 487 |
| difference: | +6.0 | +0.4 | +2.6 | +5.0 | +1.2 | +3.5 | +2.6 | +3.9 | +4.3 | +3.8 | +9 | +664 |
| James Harden | 24.1 | 7.1 | 16.2 | 43.9 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 36.3 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 86.1 | 16 | 1,151 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 8,821 | 3,241 | 6,631 | 48.9 | 778 | 1,998 | 38.9 | 1,561 | 1,896 | 82.3 | 7 | 487 |
| difference: | +18,866 | +4,933 | +11,979 | +5.0 | +2,397 | +6,752 | +2.6 | +6,603 | +7,582 | +3.8 | +9 | +664 |
| James Harden | 27,687 | 8,174 | 18,610 | 43.9 | 3,175 | 8,750 | 36.3 | 8,164 | 9,478 | 86.1 | 16 | 1,151 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 25.4 | 9.0 | 19.7 | 46.0 | 2.0 | 5.8 | 34.2 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 82.6 | 5 | 67 |
| difference: | +2.9 | +2.2 | +3.7 | +3.5 | +0.5 | +1.6 | +0.2 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +4.3 | +11 | +106 |
| James Harden | 22.5 | 6.8 | 16.0 | 42.5 | 2.5 | 7.4 | 34.0 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 86.9 | 16 | 173 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Jalen Brunson | 1,701 | 606 | 1,318 | 46.0 | 132 | 386 | 34.2 | 357 | 432 | 82.6 | 5 | 67 |
| difference: | +2,194 | +567 | +1,442 | +3.5 | +302 | +889 | +0.2 | +758 | +851 | +4.3 | +11 | +106 |
| James Harden | 3,895 | 1,173 | 2,760 | 42.5 | 434 | 1,275 | 34.0 | 1,115 | 1,283 | 86.9 | 16 | 173 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 9 seasons more than Jalen Brunson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 16, from 2017 to 2025—he averaged 26.6 points in a total of 617 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6. In those 9 extra years over Jalen Brunson, James Harden won 3 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jalen Brunson | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Jalen Brunson | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 9 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 9 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 24.9 points in a total of 96 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |