John Collins vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison

We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and John Collins 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 John Collins.

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 John Collins 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.

Career Numbers
Who has the better scoring stats?

Points in the Regular Season

In his 16 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 8.1 points more than John Collins in his 8 seasons (24.1 points against 16.0), and he also scored a total of 20,134 points more (27,687 vs. 7,553).

Points Per Game

Seasons
John Collins 16.0
8
James Harden 24.1
+8.1
16

Total Points

Seasons
John Collins 7,553
8
James Harden 27,687
+20,134
16

Scoring Titles

John Collins 0
James Harden 3
Scoring leaderScoring leaderScoring leader
+3

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 John Collins (+9.9 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,530).

Points Per Game

Playoffs
John Collins 12.6
3
James Harden 22.5
+9.9
16

Total Points

Playoffs
John Collins 365
3
James Harden 3,895
+3,530
16

Points by Thresholds

Regular Season

60+ Point Games

John Collins 0
James Harden 4
+4

50+ Point Games

John Collins 0
James Harden 24
+24

40+ Point Games

John Collins 0
James Harden 105
+105

30+ Point Games

John Collins 22
James Harden 330
+308

20+ Point Games

John Collins 137
James Harden 736
+599

10+ Point Games

John Collins 384
James Harden 1,053
+669

1+ Point Games (games with points)

John Collins 472
James Harden 1,150
+678

0 Point Games (games without points)

John Collins 0
James Harden 1
+1

Playoffs

40+ Point Games

John Collins 0
James Harden 11
+11

30+ Point Games

John Collins 0
James Harden 49
+49

20+ Point Games

John Collins 5
James Harden 101
+96

10+ Point Games

John Collins 20
James Harden 155
+135

1+ Point Games (games with points)

John Collins 28
James Harden 170
+142

0 Point Games (games without points)

John Collins 1
James Harden 3
+2

Career Shooting Stats Comparison

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Regular Season

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
John Collins 16.0 6.2 11.4 54.6 1.0 2.9 36.3 2.5 3.2 79.2 8 472
difference:+8.1+0.9+4.8+10.6+1.8+4.7+4.6+5.0+6.9+8+679
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

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
John Collins 7,553 2,936 5,380 54.6 492 1,356 36.3 1,189 1,502 79.2 8 472
difference:+20,134+5,238+13,230+10.6+2,683+7,394+6,975+7,976+6.9+8+679
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

Playoffs

Stats Per Game

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
John Collins 12.6 5.0 9.7 51.6 1.2 3.4 35.4 1.4 1.8 76.9 3 29
difference:+9.9+1.8+6.3+9.1+1.3+4.0+1.4+5.0+5.6+10.0+13+144
James Harden 22.5 6.8 16.0 42.5 2.5 7.4 34.0 6.4 7.4 86.9 16 173

Total Stats

Pts FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A% Yrs Gms
John Collins 365 145 281 51.6 35 99 35.4 40 52 76.9 3 29
difference:+3,530+1,028+2,479+9.1+399+1,176+1.4+1,075+1,231+10.0+13+144
James Harden 3,895 1,173 2,760 42.5 434 1,275 34.0 1,115 1,283 86.9 16 173

Year by Year Points Average Comparison

Scoring leader= NBA Scoring Leader

Regular Season

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 10.5
+0.6
201874
James Harden 9.9
201076

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 19.5
+7.3
201961
James Harden 12.2
201182

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 21.6
+4.8
202041
James Harden 16.8
201262

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 17.6
202163
James Harden 25.9
+8.3
201378

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 16.2
202254
James Harden 25.4
+9.2
201473

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 13.1
202371
James Harden 27.4
+14.3
201581

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 15.1
202468
James Harden 29.0
+13.9
201682

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 19.0
202540
James Harden 29.1
+10.1
201781

James Harden's additional seasons:

* James Harden played 10 seasons more than John Collins in the NBA.

In those years—his seasons 9 to 18, from 2018 to 2025—he averaged 25.4 points in a total of 666 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 36.1 ppg and his lowest 16.6.

In those 10 extra years over John Collins, James Harden won 3 scoring titles.

Playoffs

Rookie Season

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins -
DNP
20180
James Harden 7.7
+7.7
20106

Season 2

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins -
DNP
20190
James Harden 13.0
+13.0
201117

Season 3

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins -
DNP
20200
James Harden 16.3
+16.3
201220

Season 4

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 13.9
202118
James Harden 26.3
+12.4
20136

Season 5

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 9.4
20225
James Harden 26.8
+17.4
20146

Season 6

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins 11.3
20236
James Harden 27.2
+15.9
201517

Season 7

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins -
DNP
20240
James Harden 26.6
+26.6
20165

Season 8

Points per gameYearGames
John Collins -
DNP
20250
James Harden 28.5
+28.5
201711

James Harden's additional Playoffs:

* During his 10 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 10 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 23.1 points in a total of 109 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 31.6 ppg and his lowest 18.6.