James Harden vs. Drazen Petrovic: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Drazen Petrovic 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 Drazen Petrovic.
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 Drazen Petrovic 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: |
|
Who has better scoring stats? Career Numbers |
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 17 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 8.6 points more than Drazen Petrovic in his 4 seasons (24.0 points against 15.4), and he also scored a total of 23,335 points more (27,796 vs. 4,461).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.0 | +8.6 | 17 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 15.4 | 4 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,796 | +23,335 | 17 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 4,461 | 4 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 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 Drazen Petrovic (+12.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,598).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +12.3 | 16 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 10.2 | 3 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +3,598 | 16 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 297 | 3 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 740 | +641 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 99 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,058 | +853 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 205 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,155 | +875 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 280 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Drazen Petrovic | 10 | +9 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +97 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 4 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +140 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 15 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +145 | ||
| Drazen Petrovic | 25 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | |||
| Drazen Petrovic | 4 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 24.0 | 7.1 | 16.2 | 43.9 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 36.3 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
| difference: | +8.6 | +1.2 | +4.6 | +6.7 | +1.9 | +5.6 | +7.4 | +4.4 | +4.9 | +2.1 | +13 | +866 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 15.4 | 5.9 | 11.6 | 50.6 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 43.7 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 84.1 | 4 | 290 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 27,796 | 8,207 | 18,680 | 43.9 | 3,189 | 8,791 | 36.3 | 8,193 | 9,510 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
| difference: | +23,335 | +6,502 | +15,311 | +6.7 | +2,934 | +8,208 | +7.4 | +7,397 | +8,564 | +2.1 | +13 | +866 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 4,461 | 1,705 | 3,369 | 50.6 | 255 | 583 | 43.7 | 796 | 946 | 84.1 | 4 | 290 |
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: | +12.3 | +2.7 | +7.3 | +4.9 | +2.1 | +6.2 | +1.6 | +4.7 | +5.0 | +17.3 | +13 | +144 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 10.2 | 4.1 | 8.7 | 47.4 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 32.4 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 69.6 | 3 | 29 |
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: | +3,598 | +1,054 | +2,509 | +4.9 | +423 | +1,241 | +1.6 | +1,067 | +1,214 | +17.3 | +13 | +144 |
| Drazen Petrovic | 297 | 119 | 251 | 47.4 | 11 | 34 | 32.4 | 48 | 69 | 69.6 | 3 | 29 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 13 seasons more than Drazen Petrovic in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 5 to 17, from 2014 to 2026—he averaged 26.8 points in a total of 858 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6. In those 13 extra years over Drazen Petrovic, James Harden won 3 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
| Drazen Petrovic | - | DNP | 1991 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 13 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 12 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 25.4 points in a total of 124 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |