James Harden vs. Jermaine O'Neal: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Jermaine O'Neal 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 Jermaine O'Neal.
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 Jermaine O'Neal 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 16 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 10.9 points more than Jermaine O'Neal in his 18 seasons (24.1 points against 13.2), and he also scored a total of 14,378 points more (27,687 vs. 13,309).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +10.9 | 16 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13.2 | 18 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +14,378 | 16 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13,309 | 18 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 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 Jermaine O'Neal (+10.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,771).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +10.9 | 16 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 11.6 | 14 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,771 | 16 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 1,124 | 14 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +470 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 266 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +434 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 619 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +200 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 950 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 61 | +60 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +77 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 24 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +103 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 52 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +88 | ||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 82 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | |||
| Jermaine O'Neal | 15 | +12 | ||
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 | 86.1 | 16 | 1,151 |
| difference: | +10.9 | +2.0 | +5.3 | +2.7 | +2.8 | +7.5 | +21.6 | +4.1 | +4.0 | +14.6 | +2 | +140 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13.2 | 5.1 | 10.9 | 46.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14.7 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 71.5 | 18 | 1,011 |
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: | +14,378 | +3,030 | +7,585 | +2.7 | +3,161 | +8,655 | +21.6 | +5,157 | +5,270 | +14.6 | +2 | +140 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 13,309 | 5,144 | 11,025 | 46.7 | 14 | 95 | 14.7 | 3,007 | 4,208 | 71.5 | 18 | 1,011 |
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: | +10.9 | +2.5 | +6.0 | +0.1 | +2.5 | +7.2 | +34.0 | +3.3 | +3.1 | +15.1 | +2 | +76 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 11.6 | 4.3 | 10.0 | 42.6 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 3.1 | 4.3 | 71.8 | 14 | 97 |
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: | +2,771 | +760 | +1,790 | +0.1 | +434 | +1,259 | +34.0 | +817 | +868 | +15.1 | +2 | +76 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | 1,124 | 413 | 970 | 42.6 | 0 | 16 | 0.0 | 298 | 415 | 71.8 | 14 | 97 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
Jermaine O'Neal's additional seasons: | ||||
* Jermaine O'Neal played 1 season more than James Harden in the NBA. In that year—his season 19 in 2014—he averaged 7.9 points in a total of 44 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 29.6 | +29.6 | 2020 | 12 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2007 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 21.2 | +21.2 | 2024 | 6 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 18.7 | +18.7 | 2025 | 7 |
| Jermaine O'Neal | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Jermaine O'Neal's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Jermaine O'Neal played in the Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 6.0 points in a total of 7 games. |