James Harden vs. Donovan Mitchell: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Donovan Mitchell 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
Donovan Mitchell and James Harden have two of the highest career scoring averages in league history (James Harden is also one of the all-time leaders in total points) and 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 Donovan Mitchell 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 9 NBA regular seasons played, Donovan Mitchell averages 0.8 points more than James Harden in his 17 seasons (24.9 points against 24.1). On the other hand James Harden scored a total of 14,338 points more than Donovan Mitchell (28,113 vs. 13,775).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | 17 | |
| Donovan Mitchell | 24.9 | +0.8 | 9 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 28,113 | +14,338 | 17 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 13,775 | 9 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Donovan Mitchell has a better career point average than James Harden (+5.8 points per game) while James Harden scored more points (+2,112).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
| Donovan Mitchell | 28.3 | +5.8 | 8 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,112 | 16 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 1,783 | 8 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
| Donovan Mitchell | 1 | +1 | ||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +3 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 749 | +345 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 404 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,068 | +534 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 534 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,165 | +611 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 554 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | +1 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 0 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
| Donovan Mitchell | 3 | +3 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +50 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 51 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +93 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 62 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +107 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 63 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Donovan Mitchell | 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 | 44.0 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 36.4 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,166 |
| difference: | +0.8 | +1.7 | +3.3 | +1.1 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +2.9 | +3.1 | +2.2 | +8 | +612 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 24.9 | 8.8 | 19.5 | 45.1 | 3.0 | 8.3 | 36.7 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 84.0 | 9 | 554 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 28,113 | 8,298 | 18,879 | 44.0 | 3,237 | 8,902 | 36.4 | 8,280 | 9,607 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,166 |
| difference: | +14,338 | +3,424 | +8,063 | +1.1 | +1,560 | +4,329 | +0.3 | +5,930 | +6,808 | +2.2 | +8 | +612 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 13,775 | 4,874 | 10,816 | 45.1 | 1,677 | 4,573 | 36.7 | 2,350 | 2,799 | 84.0 | 9 | 554 |
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 | +3.0 | +6.3 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +4.4 | +8 | +110 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 28.3 | 9.8 | 22.3 | 44.0 | 3.2 | 8.9 | 35.5 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 82.5 | 8 | 63 |
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: | +2,112 | +556 | +1,357 | +1.5 | +235 | +714 | +1.5 | +765 | +859 | +4.4 | +8 | +110 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 1,783 | 617 | 1,403 | 44.0 | 199 | 561 | 35.5 | 350 | 424 | 82.5 | 8 | 63 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 8 seasons more than Donovan Mitchell in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 10 to 17, from 2019 to 2026—he averaged 25.7 points in a total of 479 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6. In those 8 extra years over Donovan Mitchell, James Harden won 2 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 28.6 | +28.6 | 2018 | 17 |
| Donovan Mitchell | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 8 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 7 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 23.4 points in a total of 68 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |