James Harden vs. Kyrie Irving: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Kyrie Irving 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 and Kyrie Irving have two of the highest career scoring averages in league history (James Harden is also one of the all-time leaders in total points) and here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that James Harden scored more points both in the regular season and Playoffs and also has better season average while Kyrie Irving has a better scoring average in the postseason. 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 0.4 points more than Kyrie Irving in his 14 seasons (24.1 points against 23.7), and he also scored a total of 9,254 points more (27,687 vs. 18,433).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +0.4 | 16 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 14 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +9,254 | 16 |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 14 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Kyrie Irving | 0 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Kyrie Irving has a better career point average than James Harden (+0.5 points per game) while James Harden scored more points (+1,684).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | +0.5 | 7 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +1,684 | 16 |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 7 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +3 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +201 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 535 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +314 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 739 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +373 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 777 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Kyrie Irving | 2 | +1 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +35 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 66 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +63 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 92 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +74 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 96 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Kyrie Irving | 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: | +0.4 | +1.6 | +2.2 | +3.5 | +0.4 | +1.5 | +3.1 | +3.3 | +3.9 | +2.7 | +2 | +372 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.7 | 8.7 | 18.4 | 47.4 | 2.4 | 6.1 | 39.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
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: | +9,254 | +1,387 | +4,297 | +3.5 | +1,299 | +3,987 | +3.1 | +5,181 | +6,118 | +2.7 | +2 | +372 |
| Kyrie Irving | 18,433 | 6,787 | 14,313 | 47.4 | 1,876 | 4,763 | 39.4 | 2,983 | 3,360 | 88.8 | 14 | 779 |
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: | +0.5 | +1.7 | +2.6 | +3.3 | +0.2 | +1.4 | +5.2 | +2.7 | +3.2 | +1.4 | +9 | +77 |
| Kyrie Irving | 23.0 | 8.5 | 18.6 | 45.8 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 39.2 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
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: | +1,684 | +358 | +979 | +3.3 | +209 | +701 | +5.2 | +759 | +880 | +1.4 | +9 | +77 |
| Kyrie Irving | 2,211 | 815 | 1,781 | 45.8 | 225 | 574 | 39.2 | 356 | 403 | 88.3 | 7 | 96 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 4 seasons more than Kyrie Irving in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 18, from 2022 to 2025—he averaged 20.6 points in a total of 274 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 22.8 ppg and his lowest 16.6. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2012 | 20 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2018 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 28.6 | +28.6 | 2018 | 17 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 18.6 | +18.6 | 2022 | 12 |
| Kyrie Irving | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 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. |