James Harden vs. Kyle Kuzma: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of Kyle Kuzma 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 Kyle Kuzma.

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 Kyle Kuzma 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 7.1 points more than Kyle Kuzma in his 8 seasons (24.1 points against 17.0), and he also scored a total of 18,477 points more (27,687 vs. 9,210).

Points Per Game

Seasons
James Harden 24.1
+7.1
16
Kyle Kuzma 17.0
8

Total Points

Seasons
James Harden 27,687
+18,477
16
Kyle Kuzma 9,210
8

Scoring Titles

James Harden 3
Scoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leader
+3
Kyle Kuzma 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 Kyle Kuzma (+13.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,619).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
James Harden 22.5
+13.9
16
Kyle Kuzma 8.6
3

Total Points

Playoffs
James Harden 3,895
+3,619
16
Kyle Kuzma 276
3

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

James Harden 4
+4
Kyle Kuzma 0

50+ Point Games

James Harden 24
+24
Kyle Kuzma 0

40+ Point Games

James Harden 105
+103
Kyle Kuzma 2

30+ Point Games

James Harden 330
+290
Kyle Kuzma 40

20+ Point Games

James Harden 736
+532
Kyle Kuzma 204

10+ Point Games

James Harden 1,053
+609
Kyle Kuzma 444

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 1,150
+611
Kyle Kuzma 539

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 1
Kyle Kuzma 2
+1

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

James Harden 11
+11
Kyle Kuzma 0

30+ Point Games

James Harden 49
+49
Kyle Kuzma 0

20+ Point Games

James Harden 101
+101
Kyle Kuzma 0

10+ Point Games

James Harden 155
+142
Kyle Kuzma 13

1+ Point Games (games with points)

James Harden 170
+140
Kyle Kuzma 30

0 Point Games (games without points)

James Harden 3
+1
Kyle Kuzma 2

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:+7.1+0.6+1.8+1.0+0.9+1.8+2.9+5.0+5.2+14.0+8+610
Kyle Kuzma 17.0 6.5 14.4 45.0 1.9 5.8 33.4 2.1 3.0 72.1 8 541

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:+18,477+4,671+10,820+1.0+2,130+5,623+2.9+7,005+7,870+14.0+8+610
Kyle Kuzma 9,210 3,503 7,790 45.0 1,045 3,127 33.4 1,159 1,608 72.1 8 541

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:+13.9+3.6+7.8+3.2+1.5+3.8+6.4+5.2+5.8+13.8+13+141
Kyle Kuzma 8.6 3.2 8.2 39.3 1.0 3.6 27.6 1.2 1.6 73.1 3 32

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:+3,619+1,070+2,498+3.2+402+1,159+6.4+1,077+1,231+13.8+13+141
Kyle Kuzma 276 103 262 39.3 32 116 27.6 38 52 73.1 3 32

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
201076
Kyle Kuzma 16.1
+6.2
201877

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 12.2
201182
Kyle Kuzma 18.7
+6.5
201970

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.8
+4.0
201262
Kyle Kuzma 12.8
2020NBA Champion61

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 25.9
+13.0
201378
Kyle Kuzma 12.9
202168

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 25.4
+8.3
201473
Kyle Kuzma 17.1
202266

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 27.4
+6.2
201581
Kyle Kuzma 21.2
202364

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 29.0
+6.8
201682
Kyle Kuzma 22.2
202470

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 29.1
+14.3
201781
Kyle Kuzma 14.8
202565

James Harden's additional seasons:

* James Harden played 10 seasons more than Kyle Kuzma in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2018 to 2025—he averaged 26.0 points in a total of 624 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6.

In those 10 extra years over Kyle Kuzma, James Harden won 3 scoring titles.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 7.7
+7.7
20106
Kyle Kuzma -
DNP
20180

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 13.0
+13.0
201117
Kyle Kuzma -
DNP
20190

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 16.3
+6.3
201220
Kyle Kuzma 10.0
2020NBA Champion21

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.3
+20.0
20136
Kyle Kuzma 6.3
20216

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.8
+26.8
20146
Kyle Kuzma -
DNP
20220

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 27.2
+27.2
201517
Kyle Kuzma -
DNP
20230

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 26.6
+26.6
20165
Kyle Kuzma -
DNP
20240

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
James Harden 28.5
+22.7
201711
Kyle Kuzma 5.8
20255

James Harden's additional Playoffs:

* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 10 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 23.7 points in a total of 103 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6.