James Harden vs. Klay Thompson: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Klay Thompson 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 Klay Thompson.
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 Klay Thompson 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 5 points more than Klay Thompson in his 12 seasons (24.1 points against 19.1), and he also scored a total of 11,151 points more (27,687 vs. 16,536).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +5.0 | 16 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.1 | 12 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +11,151 | 16 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,536 | 12 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Klay Thompson | 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 Klay Thompson (+3.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+863).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +3.3 | 16 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 9 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +863 | 16 |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | 9 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +3 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +344 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 392 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +289 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 764 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +290 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 860 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Klay Thompson | 5 | +4 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +26 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 75 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +12 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 143 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +12 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 158 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 0 | |||
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: | +5.0 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +4.8 | +5.3 | +6.1 | +0.1 | +4 | +286 | ||
| Klay Thompson | 19.1 | 7.1 | 15.8 | 45.1 | 3.1 | 7.6 | 41.1 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 86.0 | 12 | 865 |
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: | +11,151 | +2,019 | +4,951 | +1.1 | +478 | +2,187 | +4.8 | +6,635 | +7,700 | +0.1 | +4 | +286 |
| Klay Thompson | 16,536 | 6,155 | 13,659 | 45.1 | 2,697 | 6,563 | 41.1 | 1,529 | 1,778 | 86.0 | 12 | 865 |
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: | +3.3 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +6.5 | +4.6 | +5.3 | +2.4 | +7 | +15 |
| Klay Thompson | 19.2 | 7.1 | 16.4 | 43.6 | 3.2 | 7.8 | 40.5 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
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: | +863 | +47 | +175 | +1.1 | +67 | +38 | +6.5 | +836 | +953 | +2.4 | +7 | +15 |
| Klay Thompson | 3,032 | 1,126 | 2,585 | 43.6 | 501 | 1,237 | 40.5 | 279 | 330 | 84.5 | 9 | 158 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 6 seasons more than Klay Thompson in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2021 to 2025—he averaged 21.6 points in a total of 362 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.6 ppg and his lowest 16.6. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 29.6 | +29.6 | 2020 | 12 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
| Klay Thompson | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 6 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 6 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 54 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |