James Harden vs. Kristaps Porzingis: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Kristaps Porzingis 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 Kristaps Porzingis.
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 Kristaps Porzingis 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 4.5 points more than Kristaps Porzingis in his 9 seasons (24.1 points against 19.6), and he also scored a total of 17,848 points more (27,687 vs. 9,839).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +4.5 | 16 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 19.6 | 9 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +17,848 | 16 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 9,839 | 9 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 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 Kristaps Porzingis (+10.6 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,561).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +10.6 | 16 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 11.9 | 4 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +3,561 | 16 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 334 | 4 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +497 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 239 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +594 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 459 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +650 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 500 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 1 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +96 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 5 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +142 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 13 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +143 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 27 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +2 | ||
| Kristaps Porzingis | 1 | |||
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: | +4.5 | +0.2 | +1.3 | +2.2 | +0.9 | +2.4 | +0.3 | +3.1 | +3.4 | +3.2 | +7 | +650 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 19.6 | 6.9 | 14.9 | 46.1 | 1.9 | 5.2 | 36.6 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 82.9 | 9 | 501 |
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: | +17,848 | +4,721 | +11,124 | +2.2 | +2,225 | +6,153 | +0.3 | +6,181 | +7,087 | +3.2 | +7 | +650 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 9,839 | 3,453 | 7,486 | 46.1 | 950 | 2,597 | 36.6 | 1,983 | 2,391 | 82.9 | 9 | 501 |
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: | +10.6 | +2.9 | +7.0 | +0.5 | +1.4 | +3.9 | +2.7 | +3.3 | +3.5 | +7.1 | +12 | +145 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 11.9 | 3.9 | 9.0 | 43.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 31.3 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 79.8 | 4 | 28 |
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: | +3,561 | +1,065 | +2,509 | +0.5 | +403 | +1,176 | +2.7 | +1,028 | +1,174 | +7.1 | +12 | +145 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 334 | 108 | 251 | 43.0 | 31 | 99 | 31.3 | 87 | 109 | 79.8 | 4 | 28 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 9 seasons more than Kristaps Porzingis in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 10 to 18, from 2019 to 2025—he averaged 24.8 points in a total of 594 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6. In those 9 extra years over Kristaps Porzingis, James Harden won 2 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | - | DNP | 2016 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | - | DNP | 2017 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2012 | 20 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 6 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 27.2 | +27.2 | 2015 | 17 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 9 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 9 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 22.1 points in a total of 92 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |