James Harden vs. Deron Williams: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Deron Williams 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 Deron Williams.
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 Deron Williams 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 7.8 points more than Deron Williams in his 12 seasons (24.1 points against 16.3), and he also scored a total of 13,883 points more (27,687 vs. 13,804).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +7.8 | 16 |
| Deron Williams | 16.3 | 12 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +13,883 | 16 |
| Deron Williams | 13,804 | 12 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Deron Williams | 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 Deron Williams (+6.8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,483).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +6.8 | 16 |
| Deron Williams | 15.7 | 9 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,483 | 16 |
| Deron Williams | 1,412 | 9 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Deron Williams | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +470 | ||
| Deron Williams | 266 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +364 | ||
| Deron Williams | 689 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +313 | ||
| Deron Williams | 837 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Deron Williams | 8 | +7 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Deron Williams | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +67 | ||
| Deron Williams | 34 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +90 | ||
| Deron Williams | 65 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +87 | ||
| Deron Williams | 83 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | |||
| Deron Williams | 7 | +4 | ||
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: | +7.8 | +1.3 | +3.2 | +0.5 | +1.4 | +3.7 | +0.6 | +3.7 | +4.1 | +3.9 | +4 | +306 |
| Deron Williams | 16.3 | 5.8 | 13.0 | 44.5 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 35.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 82.2 | 12 | 845 |
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: | +13,883 | +3,300 | +7,646 | +0.5 | +1,997 | +5,454 | +0.6 | +5,286 | +5,976 | +3.9 | +4 | +306 |
| Deron Williams | 13,804 | 4,874 | 10,964 | 44.5 | 1,178 | 3,296 | 35.7 | 2,878 | 3,502 | 82.2 | 12 | 845 |
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: | +6.8 | +1.5 | +4.0 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +3.5 | +5.3 | +2.8 | +2.9 | +6.6 | +7 | +83 |
| Deron Williams | 15.7 | 5.3 | 12.0 | 43.8 | 1.5 | 3.9 | 39.3 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 80.3 | 9 | 90 |
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: | +2,483 | +699 | +1,679 | +1.3 | +297 | +926 | +5.3 | +788 | +876 | +6.6 | +7 | +83 |
| Deron Williams | 1,412 | 474 | 1,081 | 43.8 | 137 | 349 | 39.3 | 327 | 407 | 80.3 | 9 | 90 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 2 seasons more than Deron Williams in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 16, from 2024 to 2025—he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 151 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Deron Williams | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 27.2 | +27.2 | 2015 | 17 |
| Deron Williams | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Deron Williams | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 13 games. |