James Harden vs. Michael Porter Jr.: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Michael Porter Jr. 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 Michael Porter Jr..
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 Michael Porter Jr. 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 7.9 points more than Michael Porter Jr. in his 6 seasons (24.1 points against 16.2), and he also scored a total of 22,090 points more (27,687 vs. 5,597).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +7.9 | 16 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 16.2 | 6 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +22,090 | 16 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 5,597 | 6 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 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 Michael Porter Jr. (+9.5 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,921).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +9.5 | 16 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 13.0 | 5 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,921 | 16 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 974 | 5 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 0 | |||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 105 | +105 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +619 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 117 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +779 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 274 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +812 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 338 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 7 | +6 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 0 | |||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 49 | +49 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +87 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 14 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +105 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 50 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +95 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 75 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Michael Porter Jr. | 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: | +7.9 | +0.9 | +3.9 | +6.1 | +0.4 | +1.6 | +4.3 | +5.6 | +6.3 | +6.6 | +10 | +806 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 16.2 | 6.2 | 12.3 | 50.0 | 2.4 | 6.0 | 40.6 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 79.5 | 6 | 345 |
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: | +22,090 | +6,051 | +14,363 | +6.1 | +2,332 | +6,676 | +4.3 | +7,656 | +8,839 | +6.6 | +10 | +806 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 5,597 | 2,123 | 4,247 | 50.0 | 843 | 2,074 | 40.6 | 508 | 639 | 79.5 | 6 | 345 |
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: | +9.5 | +2.1 | +5.3 | +2.1 | +0.3 | +1.5 | +3.4 | +5.1 | +5.7 | +10.1 | +11 | +98 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 13.0 | 4.7 | 10.7 | 44.6 | 2.2 | 5.9 | 37.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 76.8 | 5 | 75 |
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: | +2,921 | +817 | +1,961 | +2.1 | +268 | +831 | +3.4 | +1,019 | +1,158 | +10.1 | +11 | +98 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | 974 | 356 | 799 | 44.6 | 166 | 444 | 37.4 | 96 | 125 | 76.8 | 5 | 75 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 11 seasons more than Michael Porter Jr. in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 7 to 17, from 2016 to 2025—he averaged 26.5 points in a total of 764 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6. In those 11 extra years over Michael Porter Jr., James Harden won 3 scoring titles. |
Playoffs
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2012 | 20 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 11 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 11 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 24.3 points in a total of 113 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |