James Harden vs. Austin Reaves: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Austin Reaves 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.

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 Austin Reaves.

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 Austin Reaves 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 16 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 9.6 points more than Austin Reaves in his 4 seasons (24.1 points against 14.5), and he also scored a total of 23,635 points more (27,687 vs. 4,052).

Points Per Game

Seasons
James Harden 24.1
+9.6
16
Austin Reaves 14.5
4

Total Points

Seasons
James Harden 27,687
+23,635
16
Austin Reaves 4,052
4

Scoring Titles

James Harden 3
Scoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leader
+3
Austin Reaves 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 Austin Reaves (+5.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,460).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
James Harden 22.5
+5.8
16
Austin Reaves 16.7
3

Total Points

Playoffs
James Harden 3,895
+3,460
16
Austin Reaves 435
3

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

James Harden 4
+4
Austin Reaves 0

50+ Point Games

James Harden 24
+24
Austin Reaves 0

40+ Point Games

James Harden 105
+104
Austin Reaves 1

30+ Point Games

James Harden 330
+317
Austin Reaves 13

20+ Point Games

James Harden 736
+668
Austin Reaves 68

10+ Point Games

James Harden 1,053
+852
Austin Reaves 201

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 1,150
+878
Austin Reaves 272

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 1
Austin Reaves 8
+7

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

James Harden 11
+11
Austin Reaves 0

30+ Point Games

James Harden 49
+49
Austin Reaves 0

20+ Point Games

James Harden 101
+91
Austin Reaves 10

10+ Point Games

James Harden 155
+131
Austin Reaves 24

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 170
+144
Austin Reaves 26

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 3
+3
Austin Reaves 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

more >>

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:+9.6+2.3+6.3+4.2+1.0+2.8+0.7+4.0+4.6+0.2+12+871
Austin Reaves 14.5 4.8 9.9 48.1 1.8 4.8 37.0 3.1 3.6 86.3 4 280

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:+23,635+6,835+15,825+4.2+2,682+7,416+0.7+7,283+8,457+0.2+12+871
Austin Reaves 4,052 1,339 2,785 48.1 493 1,334 37.0 881 1,021 86.3 4 280

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:+5.8+1.0+3.3+3.0+0.2+1.2+3.9+3.6+4.2+2.3+13+147
Austin Reaves 16.7 5.8 12.7 45.5 2.3 6.2 37.9 2.8 3.2 89.2 3 26

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:+3,460+1,023+2,430+3.0+373+1,114+3.9+1,041+1,200+2.3+13+147
Austin Reaves 435 150 330 45.5 61 161 37.9 74 83 89.2 3 26

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 9.9
+2.6
201076
Austin Reaves 7.3
202261

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 12.2
201182
Austin Reaves 13.0
+0.8
202364

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.8
+0.9
201262
Austin Reaves 15.9
202482

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 25.9
+5.7
201378
Austin Reaves 20.2
202573

James Harden's additional seasons:

* James Harden played 13 seasons more than Austin Reaves in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 5 to 17, from 2014 to 2025—he averaged 26.7 points in a total of 897 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6.

In those 13 extra years over Austin Reaves, James Harden won 3 scoring titles.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 7.7
+7.7
20106
Austin Reaves -
DNP
20220

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 13.0
201117
Austin Reaves 16.9
+3.9
202316

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.3
201220
Austin Reaves 16.8
+0.5
20245

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.3
+10.1
20136
Austin Reaves 16.2
20255

James Harden's additional Playoffs:

* During his 13 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 13 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 25.0 points in a total of 133 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6.