James Harden vs. Marcus Smart: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Marcus Smart 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 Marcus Smart.
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 Marcus Smart 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 13.5 points more than Marcus Smart in his 12 seasons (24.1 points against 10.6), and he also scored a total of 21,481 points more (28,422 vs. 6,941).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +13.5 | 17 |
| Marcus Smart | 10.6 | 12 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 28,422 | +21,481 | 17 |
| Marcus Smart | 6,941 | 12 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Marcus Smart | 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 Marcus Smart (+9.7 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,518).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +9.7 | 16 |
| Marcus Smart | 12.8 | 9 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,518 | 16 |
| Marcus Smart | 1,377 | 9 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 25 | +25 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 107 | +107 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 758 | +709 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 49 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,081 | +736 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 345 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,178 | +539 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 639 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Marcus Smart | 16 | +15 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 49 | +49 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +80 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 21 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +86 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 69 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +62 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 108 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Marcus Smart | 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 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,179 |
| difference: | +13.5 | +3.5 | +7.0 | +5.1 | +1.2 | +2.7 | +4.0 | +5.2 | +5.8 | +8.3 | +5 | +524 |
| Marcus Smart | 10.6 | 3.6 | 9.2 | 38.9 | 1.6 | 4.9 | 32.3 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 77.9 | 12 | 655 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 28,422 | 8,386 | 19,091 | 43.9 | 3,274 | 9,016 | 36.3 | 8,376 | 9,717 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,179 |
| difference: | +21,481 | +6,050 | +13,080 | +5.1 | +2,238 | +5,811 | +4.0 | +7,143 | +8,135 | +8.3 | +5 | +524 |
| Marcus Smart | 6,941 | 2,336 | 6,011 | 38.9 | 1,036 | 3,205 | 32.3 | 1,233 | 1,582 | 77.9 | 12 | 655 |
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: | +9.7 | +2.6 | +5.4 | +2.9 | +0.6 | +1.6 | +0.6 | +4.0 | +4.2 | +10.7 | +7 | +65 |
| Marcus Smart | 12.8 | 4.2 | 10.6 | 39.6 | 1.9 | 5.8 | 33.4 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 76.2 | 9 | 108 |
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: | +2,518 | +720 | +1,617 | +2.9 | +226 | +653 | +0.6 | +852 | +938 | +10.7 | +7 | +65 |
| Marcus Smart | 1,377 | 453 | 1,143 | 39.6 | 208 | 622 | 33.4 | 263 | 345 | 76.2 | 9 | 108 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
- James Harden played 6 seasons more than Marcus Smart in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2021 to 2026—he averaged 21.6 points in a total of 346 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 26.3 ppg and his lowest 16.6. |
Playoffs
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 31.6 | +31.6 | 2019 | 11 |
| Marcus Smart | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 29.6 | +29.6 | 2020 | 12 |
| Marcus Smart | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
| Marcus Smart | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| * season in progress | ||||
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
- During his 6 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.7 points in a total of 45 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |