James Harden vs. Kawhi Leonard: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Kawhi Leonard 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 Kawhi Leonard.
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 Kawhi Leonard 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 3.9 points more than Kawhi Leonard in his 14 seasons (24.0 points against 20.1), and he also scored a total of 12,944 points more (27,796 vs. 14,852).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.0 | +3.9 | 17 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 20.1 | 14 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,796 | +12,944 | 17 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 14,852 | 14 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 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 Kawhi Leonard (+1 point per game) and he also scored more points (+762).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +1.0 | 16 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 21.5 | 12 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +762 | 16 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 3,133 | 12 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 740 | +351 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 389 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,058 | +415 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 643 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,155 | +421 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 734 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Kawhi Leonard | 4 | +3 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +21 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 80 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +27 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 128 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +24 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 146 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Kawhi Leonard | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 24.0 | 7.1 | 16.2 | 43.9 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 36.3 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
| difference: | +3.9 | +0.2 | +1.5 | +5.9 | +1.2 | +3.5 | +3.0 | +3.2 | +3.7 | +0.2 | +3 | +418 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 20.1 | 7.3 | 14.7 | 49.9 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 39.3 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 86.0 | 14 | 738 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 27,796 | 8,207 | 18,680 | 43.9 | 3,189 | 8,791 | 36.3 | 8,193 | 9,510 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
| difference: | +12,944 | +2,812 | +7,860 | +5.9 | +1,990 | +5,737 | +3.0 | +5,330 | +6,182 | +0.2 | +3 | +418 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 14,852 | 5,395 | 10,820 | 49.9 | 1,199 | 3,054 | 39.3 | 2,863 | 3,328 | 86.0 | 14 | 738 |
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: | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +8.8 | +0.8 | +3.1 | +5.9 | +2.0 | +2.2 | +2.8 | +4 | +27 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 21.5 | 7.7 | 15.0 | 51.3 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 39.9 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 84.1 | 12 | 146 |
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: | +762 | +53 | +575 | +8.8 | +185 | +651 | +5.9 | +471 | +517 | +2.8 | +4 | +27 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 3,133 | 1,120 | 2,185 | 51.3 | 249 | 624 | 39.9 | 644 | 766 | 84.1 | 12 | 146 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 5 seasons more than Kawhi Leonard in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 19, from 2022 to 2026—he averaged 20.6 points in a total of 279 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 22.8 ppg and his lowest 16.6. |
Playoffs
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Kawhi Leonard | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 18.6 | +18.6 | 2022 | 12 |
| Kawhi Leonard | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 4 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.6 points in a total of 36 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |