James Harden vs. Fred VanVleet: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Fred VanVleet 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 Fred VanVleet.
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 Fred VanVleet 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 17 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 9.2 points more than Fred VanVleet in his 9 seasons (24.1 points against 14.9), and he also scored a total of 20,065 points more (28,269 vs. 8,204).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +9.2 | 17 |
| Fred VanVleet | 14.9 | 9 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 28,269 | +20,065 | 17 |
| Fred VanVleet | 8,204 | 9 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Fred VanVleet | 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 Fred VanVleet (+11.5 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,246).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +11.5 | 16 |
| Fred VanVleet | 11.0 | 6 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +3,246 | 16 |
| Fred VanVleet | 649 | 6 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 753 | +589 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 164 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,075 | +682 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 393 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,172 | +643 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 529 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Fred VanVleet | 21 | +20 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +89 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 12 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +126 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 29 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +117 | ||
| Fred VanVleet | 53 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | |||
| Fred VanVleet | 6 | +3 | ||
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 | 1,173 |
| difference: | +9.2 | +2.1 | +3.7 | +3.8 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +4.8 | +5.5 | +8 | +623 | |
| Fred VanVleet | 14.9 | 5.0 | 12.5 | 40.1 | 2.5 | 6.8 | 37.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 86.2 | 9 | 550 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 28,269 | 8,342 | 18,994 | 43.9 | 3,255 | 8,966 | 36.3 | 8,330 | 9,662 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,173 |
| difference: | +20,065 | +5,579 | +12,109 | +3.8 | +1,869 | +5,235 | +0.8 | +7,038 | +8,164 | +8 | +623 | |
| Fred VanVleet | 8,204 | 2,763 | 6,885 | 40.1 | 1,386 | 3,731 | 37.1 | 1,292 | 1,498 | 86.2 | 9 | 550 |
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: | +11.5 | +3.1 | +6.7 | +2.8 | +0.3 | +1.7 | +4.3 | +5.0 | +5.8 | +0.7 | +10 | +114 |
| Fred VanVleet | 11.0 | 3.7 | 9.3 | 39.7 | 2.2 | 5.7 | 38.3 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 86.2 | 6 | 59 |
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: | +3,246 | +954 | +2,209 | +2.8 | +304 | +936 | +4.3 | +1,034 | +1,189 | +0.7 | +10 | +114 |
| Fred VanVleet | 649 | 219 | 551 | 39.7 | 130 | 339 | 38.3 | 81 | 94 | 86.2 | 6 | 59 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 10 seasons more than Fred VanVleet in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 10 to 19, from 2019 to 2026—he averaged 25.5 points in a total of 574 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6. In those 10 extra years over Fred VanVleet, James Harden won 2 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2014 | 6 |
| Fred VanVleet | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Fred VanVleet | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 28.5 | +28.5 | 2017 | 11 |
| Fred VanVleet | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 9 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 22.7 points in a total of 86 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |