James Harden vs. Jordan Poole: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Jordan Poole 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 Jordan Poole.

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 Jordan Poole 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 16 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 7.3 points more than Jordan Poole in his 6 seasons (24.1 points against 16.8), and he also scored a total of 20,745 points more (27,687 vs. 6,942).

Points Per Game

Seasons
James Harden 24.1
+7.3
16
Jordan Poole 16.8
6

Total Points

Seasons
James Harden 27,687
+20,745
16
Jordan Poole 6,942
6

Scoring Titles

James Harden 3
Scoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leader
+3
Jordan Poole 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 Jordan Poole (+8 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,388).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
James Harden 22.5
+8.0
16
Jordan Poole 14.5
2

Total Points

Playoffs
James Harden 3,895
+3,388
16
Jordan Poole 507
2

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

James Harden 4
+4
Jordan Poole 0

50+ Point Games

James Harden 24
+24
Jordan Poole 0

40+ Point Games

James Harden 105
+100
Jordan Poole 5

30+ Point Games

James Harden 330
+288
Jordan Poole 42

20+ Point Games

James Harden 736
+584
Jordan Poole 152

10+ Point Games

James Harden 1,053
+732
Jordan Poole 321

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 1,150
+749
Jordan Poole 401

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 1
Jordan Poole 11
+10

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

James Harden 11
+11
Jordan Poole 0

30+ Point Games

James Harden 49
+47
Jordan Poole 2

20+ Point Games

James Harden 101
+92
Jordan Poole 9

10+ Point Games

James Harden 155
+130
Jordan Poole 25

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 170
+136
Jordan Poole 34

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 3
+2
Jordan Poole 1

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:+7.3+1.4+2.7+1.7+0.3+0.5+1.8+4.1+4.8+1.8+10+739
Jordan Poole 16.8 5.7 13.5 42.2 2.5 7.1 34.5 3.0 3.4 87.9 6 412

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:+20,745+5,831+13,055+1.7+2,160+5,806+1.8+6,923+8,066+1.8+10+739
Jordan Poole 6,942 2,343 5,555 42.2 1,015 2,944 34.5 1,241 1,412 87.9 6 412

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:+8.0+1.8+4.9+2.5+0.6+1.9+0.6+3.8+4.4+0.2+14+138
Jordan Poole 14.5 5.0 11.1 45.0 1.9 5.5 34.6 2.6 3.0 86.7 2 35

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:+3,388+998+2,371+2.5+368+1,084+0.6+1,024+1,178+0.2+14+138
Jordan Poole 507 175 389 45.0 66 191 34.6 91 105 86.7 2 35

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
+1.1
201076
Jordan Poole 8.8
202057

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 12.2
+0.2
201182
Jordan Poole 12.0
202151

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.8
201262
Jordan Poole 18.5
+1.7
2022NBA Champion76

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 25.9
+5.5
201378
Jordan Poole 20.4
202382

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 25.4
+8.0
201473
Jordan Poole 17.4
202478

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 27.4
+6.9
201581
Jordan Poole 20.5
202568

James Harden's additional seasons:

* James Harden played 12 seasons more than Jordan Poole in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 7 to 18, from 2016 to 2025—he averaged 26.6 points in a total of 787 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6.

In those 12 extra years over Jordan Poole, James Harden won 3 scoring titles.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 7.7
+7.7
20106
Jordan Poole -
DNP
20200

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 13.0
+13.0
201117
Jordan Poole -
DNP
20210

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.3
201220
Jordan Poole 17.0
+0.7
2022NBA Champion22

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.3
+16.0
20136
Jordan Poole 10.3
202313

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.8
+26.8
20146
Jordan Poole -
DNP
20240

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 27.2
+27.2
201517
Jordan Poole -
DNP
20250

James Harden's additional Playoffs:

* During his 12 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 12 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 24.2 points in a total of 119 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6.