James Harden vs. Allen Iverson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Allen Iverson and James Harden 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 and Allen Iverson are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 52,055 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages. Here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Allen Iverson has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs while James Harden scored more total points in both stages. 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: |
|
Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 14 NBA regular seasons played, Allen Iverson averages 2.6 points more than James Harden in his 16 seasons (26.7 points against 24.1). On the other hand James Harden scored a total of 3,319 points more than Allen Iverson (27,687 vs. 24,368).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | 16 | |
| Allen Iverson | 26.7 | +2.6 | 14 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +3,319 | 16 |
| Allen Iverson | 24,368 | 14 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  |
| Allen Iverson | 4 | +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Allen Iverson has a better career point average than James Harden (+7.2 points per game) while James Harden scored more points (+1,784).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
| Allen Iverson | 29.7 | +7.2 | 8 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +1,784 | 16 |
| Allen Iverson | 2,111 | 8 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +3 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +36 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 700 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +170 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 883 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +236 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 914 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | +1 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 0 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
| Allen Iverson | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +40 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 61 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +84 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 71 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +99 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 71 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Allen Iverson | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| 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 |
| difference: | +2.6 | +2.2 | +5.6 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +3.9 | +5.0 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +8.1 | +2 | +237 |
| Allen Iverson | 26.7 | 9.3 | 21.8 | 42.5 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 31.3 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 78.0 | 14 | 914 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| 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 |
| difference: | +3,319 | +293 | +1,296 | +1.4 | +2,116 | +5,367 | +5.0 | +1,789 | +1,310 | +8.1 | +2 | +237 |
| Allen Iverson | 24,368 | 8,467 | 19,906 | 42.5 | 1,059 | 3,383 | 31.3 | 6,375 | 8,168 | 78.0 | 14 | 914 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 22.5 | 6.8 | 16.0 | 42.5 | 2.5 | 7.4 | 34.0 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 86.9 | 16 | 173 |
| difference: | +7.2 | +3.8 | +10.5 | +2.4 | +0.8 | +2.1 | +1.3 | +0.3 | +1.4 | +10.5 | +8 | +102 |
| Allen Iverson | 29.7 | 10.6 | 26.5 | 40.1 | 1.7 | 5.3 | 32.7 | 6.7 | 8.8 | 76.4 | 8 | 71 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 3,895 | 1,173 | 2,760 | 42.5 | 434 | 1,275 | 34.0 | 1,115 | 1,283 | 86.9 | 16 | 173 |
| difference: | +1,784 | +418 | +878 | +2.4 | +311 | +899 | +1.3 | +637 | +657 | +10.5 | +8 | +102 |
| Allen Iverson | 2,111 | 755 | 1,882 | 40.1 | 123 | 376 | 32.7 | 478 | 626 | 76.4 | 8 | 71 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 1 season more than Allen Iverson in the NBA. In that year—his season 16 in 2025—he averaged 22.8 points in a total of 79 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 1997 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 28.5 | +28.5 | 2017 | 11 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 31.6 | +31.6 | 2019 | 11 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 18.6 | +18.6 | 2022 | 12 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.3 | +20.3 | 2023 | 11 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 21.2 | +21.2 | 2024 | 6 |
| Allen Iverson | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, James Harden played in the Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 18.7 points in a total of 7 games. |