James Harden vs. Anfernee Simons: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Anfernee Simons 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 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 Anfernee Simons.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that James Harden has better scoring stats than Anfernee Simons in averages and totals, both in the regular season and Playoffs. 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 9.1 points more than Anfernee Simons in his 7 seasons (24.1 points against 15.0), and he also scored a total of 21,850 points more (27,687 vs. 5,837).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +9.1 | 16 |
| Anfernee Simons | 15.0 | 7 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +21,850 | 16 |
| Anfernee Simons | 5,837 | 7 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Anfernee Simons | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason James Harden has a better career point average than Anfernee Simons (+17.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,825).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +17.8 | 16 |
| Anfernee Simons | 4.7 | 3 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +3,825 | 16 |
| Anfernee Simons | 70 | 3 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +610 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 126 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +804 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 249 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +782 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 368 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Anfernee Simons | 21 | +20 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 49 | +49 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +101 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 0 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +152 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 3 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +159 | ||
| Anfernee Simons | 11 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | |||
| Anfernee Simons | 4 | +1 | ||
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: | +9.1 | +1.8 | +3.9 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +1.8 | +5.2 | +6.1 | +1.9 | +9 | +762 |
| Anfernee Simons | 15.0 | 5.3 | 12.3 | 43.1 | 2.5 | 6.5 | 38.1 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 88.0 | 7 | 389 |
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: | +21,850 | +6,105 | +13,806 | +0.9 | +2,208 | +6,211 | +1.8 | +7,432 | +8,646 | +1.9 | +9 | +762 |
| Anfernee Simons | 5,837 | 2,069 | 4,804 | 43.1 | 967 | 2,539 | 38.1 | 732 | 832 | 88.0 | 7 | 389 |
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: | +17.8 | +5.3 | +12.1 | +4.6 | +1.4 | +5.1 | +16.0 | +5.8 | +6.7 | +5.1 | +13 | +158 |
| Anfernee Simons | 4.7 | 1.5 | 3.9 | 37.9 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 50.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 81.8 | 3 | 15 |
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: | +3,825 | +1,151 | +2,702 | +4.6 | +417 | +1,241 | +16.0 | +1,106 | +1,272 | +5.1 | +13 | +158 |
| Anfernee Simons | 70 | 22 | 58 | 37.9 | 17 | 34 | 50.0 | 9 | 11 | 81.8 | 3 | 15 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 10 seasons more than Anfernee Simons in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 8 to 17, from 2017 to 2025—he averaged 26.2 points in a total of 682 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6. In those 10 extra years over Anfernee Simons, James Harden won 3 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Season 4 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.3 | +26.3 | 2013 | 6 |
| Anfernee Simons | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2014 | 6 |
| Anfernee Simons | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 27.2 | +27.2 | 2015 | 17 |
| Anfernee Simons | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Anfernee Simons | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 10 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 24.2 points in a total of 108 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |