James Harden vs. Tracy McGrady: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of Tracy McGrady 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 Tracy McGrady.
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 Tracy McGrady 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 4.5 points more than Tracy McGrady in his 15 seasons (24.1 points against 19.6), and he also scored a total of 9,306 points more (27,687 vs. 18,381).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 24.1 | +4.5 | 16 |
| Tracy McGrady | 19.6 | 15 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| James Harden | 27,687 | +9,306 | 16 |
| Tracy McGrady | 18,381 | 15 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| James Harden | 3 |  +1 |
| Tracy McGrady | 2 | |
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 Tracy McGrady (+0.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,786).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 22.5 | +0.3 | 16 |
| Tracy McGrady | 22.2 | 9 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,786 | 16 |
| Tracy McGrady | 1,109 | 9 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 4 | +3 | ||
| Tracy McGrady | 1 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 736 | +269 | ||
| Tracy McGrady | 467 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +329 | ||
| Tracy McGrady | 724 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +254 | ||
| Tracy McGrady | 896 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
| Tracy McGrady | 42 | +41 | ||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 101 | +67 | ||
| Tracy McGrady | 34 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| James Harden | 155 | +116 | ||
| Tracy McGrady | 39 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| James Harden | 170 | +127 | ||
| Tracy McGrady | 43 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| James Harden | 3 | |||
| Tracy McGrady | 7 | +4 | ||
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: | +4.5 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +1.6 | +4.2 | +2.5 | +3.0 | +2.7 | +11.5 | +1 | +213 |
| Tracy McGrady | 19.6 | 7.2 | 16.4 | 43.5 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 33.8 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 74.6 | 15 | 938 |
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: | +9,306 | +1,465 | +3,197 | +0.4 | +2,094 | +5,552 | +2.5 | +4,282 | +4,276 | +11.5 | +1 | +213 |
| Tracy McGrady | 18,381 | 6,709 | 15,413 | 43.5 | 1,081 | 3,198 | 33.8 | 3,882 | 5,202 | 74.6 | 15 | 938 |
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: | +0.3 | +1.1 | +2.7 | +0.1 | +1.4 | +3.5 | +5.0 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +11.2 | +7 | +123 |
| Tracy McGrady | 22.2 | 7.9 | 18.7 | 42.6 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 29.0 | 5.2 | 6.8 | 75.7 | 9 | 50 |
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: | +2,786 | +776 | +1,827 | +0.1 | +378 | +1,082 | +5.0 | +856 | +941 | +11.2 | +7 | +123 |
| Tracy McGrady | 1,109 | 397 | 933 | 42.6 | 56 | 193 | 29.0 | 259 | 342 | 75.7 | 9 | 50 |
Year by Year Points Average Comparison
= NBA Scoring LeaderRegular Season
Season 16 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 22.8 | +22.8 | 2025 | 79 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 1999 | 0 |
Season 7 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 26.6 | +26.6 | 2016 | 5 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 2004 | 0 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 28.6 | +28.6 | 2018 | 17 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 2009 | 0 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 18.6 | +18.6 | 2022 | 12 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| James Harden | 20.3 | +20.3 | 2023 | 11 |
| Tracy McGrady | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |