James Harden vs. Russell Westbrook: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Russell Westbrook 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 Russell Westbrook are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 54,072 points—. Here we compare 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 they have the same scoring average in the postseason (rounded to one decimal). 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 |
Note: on this page, the numbers used to compare per game stats are rounded to one decimal.
Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?
Points in the Regular Season
In his 17 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 2.9 points more than Russell Westbrook in his 18 seasons (24.0 points against 21.1), and he also scored a total of 1,520 points more (27,796 vs. 26,276).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.0 | +2.9 | 17 |
| Russell Westbrook | 21.1 | 18 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,796 | +1,520 | 17 |
| Russell Westbrook | 26,276 | 18 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +1 |
| Russell Westbrook | 2 | |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason James Harden and Russell Westbrook are tied in points per game (rounded to one decimal, 22.5 ppg) but James Harden scored more points (+860).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
| Russell Westbrook | 22.5 | 14 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +860 | 16 |
| Russell Westbrook | 3,035 | 14 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Russell Westbrook | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 740 | +70 | ||
| Russell Westbrook | 670 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,058 | |||
| Russell Westbrook | 1,126 | +68 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,155 | |||
| Russell Westbrook | 1,241 | +86 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Russell Westbrook | 2 | +1 | ||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
| Russell Westbrook | 1 | +1 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +21 | ||
| Russell Westbrook | 80 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +34 | ||
| Russell Westbrook | 121 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +35 | ||
| Russell Westbrook | 135 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
| Russell Westbrook | 0 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 24.0 | 7.1 | 16.2 | 43.9 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 36.3 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
| difference: | +2.9 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +1.7 | +4.0 | +5.7 | +2.3 | +2.0 | +9.0 | +1 | +87 |
| Russell Westbrook | 21.1 | 7.6 | 17.3 | 43.9 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 30.6 | 4.8 | 6.2 | 77.2 | 18 | 1,243 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 27,796 | 8,207 | 18,680 | 43.9 | 3,189 | 8,791 | 36.3 | 8,193 | 9,510 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
| difference: | +1,520 | +1,246 | +2,874 | +0.1 | +1,812 | +4,287 | +5.7 | +2,200 | +1,748 | +9.0 | +1 | +87 |
| Russell Westbrook | 26,276 | 9,453 | 21,554 | 43.9 | 1,377 | 4,504 | 30.6 | 5,993 | 7,762 | 77.2 | 18 | 1,243 |
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: | +1.0 | +3.3 | +2.0 | +1.1 | +2.8 | +4.1 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +4.9 | +2 | +38 | |
| Russell Westbrook | 22.5 | 7.8 | 19.3 | 40.5 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 29.9 | 5.5 | 6.7 | 82.0 | 14 | 135 |
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: | +860 | +117 | +151 | +2.0 | +247 | +650 | +4.1 | +379 | +385 | +4.9 | +2 | +38 |
| Russell Westbrook | 3,035 | 1,056 | 2,609 | 40.5 | 187 | 625 | 29.9 | 736 | 898 | 82.0 | 14 | 135 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
Russell Westbrook's additional seasons: | ||||
* Russell Westbrook played 1 season more than James Harden in the NBA. In that year—his season 18 in 2026—he averaged 11.8 points in a total of 6 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Russell Westbrook | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Russell Westbrook | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.3 | +20.3 | 2023 | 11 |
| Russell Westbrook | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | - | DNP * | 2026 | 0 |
| Russell Westbrook | 11.7 | +11.7 | 2025 | 13 |
| * season in progress | ||||
Russell Westbrook's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Russell Westbrook didn't play in the postseason (2026 season yet in progress). |