James Harden vs. Dwyane Wade: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Dwyane Wade 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 Dwyane Wade are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 51,468 points—. James Harden is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that James Harden has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more total points during the season while Dwyane Wade scored more points in the postseason. 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 17 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 2.1 points more than Dwyane Wade in his 16 seasons (24.1 points against 22.0), and he also scored a total of 5,138 points more (28,303 vs. 23,165).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +2.1 | 17 |
| Dwyane Wade | 22.0 | 16 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 28,303 | +5,138 | 17 |
| Dwyane Wade | 23,165 | 16 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +2 |
| Dwyane Wade | 1 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason James Harden has a better career point average than Dwyane Wade (+0.2 points per game) while Dwyane Wade scored more points (+59).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +0.2 | 16 |
| Dwyane Wade | 22.3 | 13 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | 16 | |
| Dwyane Wade | 3,954 | +59 | 13 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Dwyane Wade | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 754 | +125 | ||
| Dwyane Wade | 629 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,076 | +106 | ||
| Dwyane Wade | 970 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,173 | +122 | ||
| Dwyane Wade | 1,051 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Dwyane Wade | 3 | +2 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | |||
| Dwyane Wade | 111 | +10 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | |||
| Dwyane Wade | 171 | +16 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | |||
| Dwyane Wade | 177 | +7 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Dwyane Wade | 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 | 43.9 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 36.3 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,174 |
| difference: | +2.1 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +4.1 | +2.3 | +5.8 | +7.0 | +1.7 | +1.1 | +9.7 | +1 | +120 |
| Dwyane Wade | 22.0 | 8.0 | 16.7 | 48.0 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 29.3 | 5.4 | 7.1 | 76.5 | 16 | 1,054 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 28,303 | 8,352 | 19,012 | 43.9 | 3,256 | 8,971 | 36.3 | 8,343 | 9,677 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,174 |
| difference: | +5,138 | +102 | +1,395 | +4.1 | +2,707 | +7,097 | +7.0 | +2,635 | +2,214 | +9.7 | +1 | +120 |
| Dwyane Wade | 23,165 | 8,454 | 17,617 | 48.0 | 549 | 1,874 | 29.3 | 5,708 | 7,463 | 76.5 | 16 | 1,054 |
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: | +0.2 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +4.9 | +1.9 | +5.7 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +8.9 | +3 | +4 |
| Dwyane Wade | 22.3 | 8.2 | 17.3 | 47.4 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 33.8 | 5.4 | 6.9 | 78.0 | 13 | 177 |
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: | +59 | +277 | +302 | +4.9 | +331 | +970 | +0.2 | +164 | +63 | +8.9 | +3 | +4 |
| Dwyane Wade | 3,954 | 1,450 | 3,062 | 47.4 | 103 | 305 | 33.8 | 951 | 1,220 | 78.0 | 13 | 177 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 2 seasons more than Dwyane Wade in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 17 to 18, from 2025 to 2026—he averaged 23.7 points in a total of 102 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2014 | 6 |
| Dwyane Wade | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
| Dwyane Wade | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 21.2 | +21.2 | 2024 | 6 |
| Dwyane Wade | - | DNP | 2019 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in one postseason. In those postseasons he averaged 18.7 points in a total of 7 games. |