James Harden vs. Jamal Murray: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Jamal Murray 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 Jamal Murray.

By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that James Harden scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Jamal Murray has a better scoring average 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 16 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 6.1 points more than Jamal Murray in his 8 seasons (24.1 points against 18.0), and he also scored a total of 18,064 points more (27,687 vs. 9,623).

Points Per Game

Seasons
James Harden 24.1
+6.1
16
Jamal Murray 18.0
8

Total Points

Seasons
James Harden 27,687
+18,064
16
Jamal Murray 9,623
8

Scoring Titles

James Harden 3
Scoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leader
+3
Jamal Murray 0

Points in the Playoffs

In the NBA postseason Jamal Murray has a better career point average than James Harden (+1.2 points per game) while James Harden scored more points (+2,019).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
James Harden 22.5
16
Jamal Murray 23.7
+1.2
5

Total Points

Playoffs
James Harden 3,895
+2,019
16
Jamal Murray 1,876
5

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

James Harden 4
+4
Jamal Murray 0

50+ Point Games

James Harden 24
+22
Jamal Murray 2

40+ Point Games

James Harden 105
+99
Jamal Murray 6

30+ Point Games

James Harden 330
+274
Jamal Murray 56

20+ Point Games

James Harden 736
+513
Jamal Murray 223

10+ Point Games

James Harden 1,053
+611
Jamal Murray 442

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 1,150
+621
Jamal Murray 529

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 1
Jamal Murray 7
+6

Playoffs

50+ Point Games

James Harden 0
Jamal Murray 2
+2

40+ Point Games

James Harden 11
+5
Jamal Murray 6

30+ Point Games

James Harden 49
+30
Jamal Murray 19

20+ Point Games

James Harden 101
+52
Jamal Murray 49

10+ Point Games

James Harden 155
+78
Jamal Murray 77

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 170
+91
Jamal Murray 79

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 3
+3
Jamal Murray 0

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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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:+6.1+0.5+1.6+1.6+0.7+2.0+1.8+4.5+5.3+0.9+8+615
Jamal Murray 18.0 6.6 14.6 45.5 2.1 5.6 38.1 2.6 2.9 87.0 8 536

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:+18,064+4,623+10,811+1.6+2,029+5,746+1.8+6,789+7,898+0.9+8+615
Jamal Murray 9,623 3,551 7,799 45.5 1,146 3,004 38.1 1,375 1,580 87.0 8 536

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:+1.2+2.0+3.4+3.2+0.1+0.6+4.3+2.9+3.6+3.5+11+94
Jamal Murray 23.7 8.8 19.4 45.7 2.6 6.8 38.3 3.5 3.8 90.4 5 79

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:+2,019+475+1,231+3.2+228+737+4.3+841+980+3.5+11+94
Jamal Murray 1,876 698 1,529 45.7 206 538 38.3 274 303 90.4 5 79

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader
NBA Champion = NBA Champion

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 9.9
201076
Jamal Murray 9.9
201782

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 12.2
201182
Jamal Murray 16.7
+4.5
201881

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.8
201262
Jamal Murray 18.2
+1.4
201975

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 25.9
+7.4
201378
Jamal Murray 18.5
202059

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 25.4
+4.2
201473
Jamal Murray 21.2
202148

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 27.4
+7.4
201581
Jamal Murray 20.0
2023NBA Champion65

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 29.0
+7.8
201682
Jamal Murray 21.2
202459

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 29.1
+7.7
201781
Jamal Murray 21.4
202567

James Harden's additional seasons:

* James Harden played 10 seasons more than Jamal Murray in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2018 to 2025—he averaged 26.0 points in a total of 624 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6.

In those 10 extra years over Jamal Murray, James Harden won 3 scoring titles.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 7.7
+7.7
20106
Jamal Murray -
DNP
20170

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 13.0
+13.0
201117
Jamal Murray -
DNP
20180

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.3
201220
Jamal Murray 21.3
+5.0
201914

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.3
20136
Jamal Murray 26.5
+0.2
202019

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.8
+26.8
20146
Jamal Murray -
DNP
20210

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 27.2
+1.1
201517
Jamal Murray 26.1
2023NBA Champion20

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.6
+6.0
20165
Jamal Murray 20.6
202412

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 28.5
+6.7
201711
Jamal Murray 21.8
202514

James Harden's additional Playoffs:

* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 10 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 23.7 points in a total of 103 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6.