James Harden vs. Shawn Kemp: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Shawn Kemp 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 Shawn Kemp.
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 Shawn Kemp 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: |
|
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 9.4 points more than Shawn Kemp in his 14 seasons (24.0 points against 14.6), and he also scored a total of 12,425 points more (27,772 vs. 15,347).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.0 | +9.4 | 17 |
| Shawn Kemp | 14.6 | 14 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,772 | +12,425 | 17 |
| Shawn Kemp | 15,347 | 14 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
| Shawn Kemp | 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 Shawn Kemp (+5.2 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,373).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +5.2 | 16 |
| Shawn Kemp | 17.3 | 10 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,373 | 16 |
| Shawn Kemp | 1,522 | 10 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 739 | +434 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 305 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,057 | +306 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 751 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,154 | +140 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 1,014 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Shawn Kemp | 37 | +36 | ||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +62 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 39 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +83 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 72 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +84 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 86 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | +1 | ||
| Shawn Kemp | 2 | |||
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 | 1,155 |
| difference: | +9.4 | +1.9 | +5.5 | +4.9 | +2.8 | +7.5 | +8.6 | +3.0 | +2.7 | +12.1 | +3 | +104 |
| Shawn Kemp | 14.6 | 5.2 | 10.7 | 48.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 27.7 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 74.1 | 14 | 1,051 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| James Harden | 27,772 | 8,199 | 18,661 | 43.9 | 3,185 | 8,778 | 36.3 | 8,189 | 9,505 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,155 |
| difference: | +12,425 | +2,694 | +7,383 | +4.9 | +3,152 | +8,659 | +8.6 | +3,885 | +3,700 | +12.1 | +3 | +104 |
| Shawn Kemp | 15,347 | 5,505 | 11,278 | 48.8 | 33 | 119 | 27.7 | 4,304 | 5,805 | 74.1 | 14 | 1,051 |
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: | +5.2 | +1.0 | +4.3 | +7.3 | +2.5 | +7.2 | +14.0 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +7.2 | +6 | +85 |
| Shawn Kemp | 17.3 | 5.8 | 11.7 | 49.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 20.0 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 79.7 | 10 | 88 |
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: | +2,373 | +659 | +1,728 | +7.3 | +431 | +1,260 | +14.0 | +624 | +667 | +7.2 | +6 | +85 |
| Shawn Kemp | 1,522 | 514 | 1,032 | 49.8 | 3 | 15 | 20.0 | 491 | 616 | 79.7 | 10 | 88 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 4 seasons more than Shawn Kemp in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 18, from 2023 to 2026—he averaged 20.2 points in a total of 213 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 |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 1990 | 0 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 31.6 | +31.6 | 2019 | 11 |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 29.6 | +29.6 | 2020 | 12 |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
| Shawn Kemp | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 4 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 3 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 20.0 points in a total of 24 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 18.7. |