James Harden vs. Damian Lillard: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Damian Lillard 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 Damian Lillard are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 50,822 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 Damian Lillard 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: |
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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 13 NBA regular seasons played, Damian Lillard averages 1 point more than James Harden in his 17 seasons (25.1 points against 24.1). On the other hand James Harden scored a total of 5,626 points more than Damian Lillard (28,224 vs. 22,598).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | 17 | |
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | +1.0 | 13 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 28,224 | +5,626 | 17 |
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | 13 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Damian Lillard | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Damian Lillard has a better career point average than James Harden (+2.7 points per game) while James Harden scored more points (+2,180).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | +2.7 | 10 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,180 | 16 |
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 10 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 1 | +1 | ||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 5 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 752 | +102 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 650 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,073 | +191 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 882 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,170 | +270 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 900 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | +1 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 0 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
| Damian Lillard | 2 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +55 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 46 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +89 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 66 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +103 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 67 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +2 | ||
| Damian Lillard | 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 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,171 |
| difference: | +1.0 | +1.0 | +2.2 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +3.7 | +4 | +271 |
| Damian Lillard | 25.1 | 8.1 | 18.4 | 43.9 | 3.1 | 8.4 | 37.1 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 28,224 | 8,325 | 18,957 | 43.9 | 3,247 | 8,945 | 36.3 | 8,327 | 9,658 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,171 |
| difference: | +5,626 | +1,059 | +2,389 | +0.1 | +443 | +1,389 | +0.8 | +3,065 | +3,805 | +3.7 | +4 | +271 |
| Damian Lillard | 22,598 | 7,266 | 16,568 | 43.9 | 2,804 | 7,556 | 37.1 | 5,262 | 5,853 | 89.9 | 13 | 900 |
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: | +2.7 | +1.2 | +3.5 | +1.6 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +2.8 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +2.4 | +6 | +105 |
| Damian Lillard | 25.2 | 8.0 | 19.5 | 40.9 | 3.3 | 8.9 | 36.8 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
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: | +2,180 | +632 | +1,436 | +1.6 | +212 | +672 | +2.8 | +704 | +823 | +2.4 | +6 | +105 |
| Damian Lillard | 1,715 | 541 | 1,324 | 40.9 | 222 | 603 | 36.8 | 411 | 460 | 89.3 | 10 | 68 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 5 seasons more than Damian Lillard in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 14 to 18, from 2022 to 2026—he averaged 21.0 points in a total of 294 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 26.9 ppg and his lowest 16.6. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 31.6 | +31.6 | 2019 | 11 |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 29.6 | +29.6 | 2020 | 12 |
| Damian Lillard | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.6 points in a total of 36 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |