Kobe Bryant vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and Kobe Bryant 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
Kobe Bryant and James Harden are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 61,330 points—and they also have two of the all-time best scoring averages. Here we compare all their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that Kobe Bryant has better scoring stats than James Harden 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 20 NBA regular seasons played, Kobe Bryant averages 0.9 points more than James Harden in his 16 seasons (25.0 points against 24.1), and he also scored a total of 5,956 points more (33,643 vs. 27,687).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Kobe Bryant | 25.0 | +0.9 | 20 |
| James Harden | 24.1 | 16 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Kobe Bryant | 33,643 | +5,956 | 20 |
| James Harden | 27,687 | 16 | |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Kobe Bryant | 2 |  |
| James Harden | 3 | +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
Similar to what happens in the regular season, in the NBA postseason Kobe Bryant has a better career point average than James Harden (+3.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,745).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Kobe Bryant | 25.6 | +3.1 | 15 |
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Kobe Bryant | 5,640 | +1,745 | 15 |
| James Harden | 3,895 | 16 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
70+ Point Games | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 1 | +1 | ||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 6 | +2 | ||
| James Harden | 4 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 941 | +205 | ||
| James Harden | 736 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 1,254 | +201 | ||
| James Harden | 1,053 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 1,331 | +181 | ||
| James Harden | 1,150 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 15 | +14 | ||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 1 | +1 | ||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 167 | +66 | ||
| James Harden | 101 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 204 | +49 | ||
| James Harden | 155 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 218 | +48 | ||
| James Harden | 170 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 2 | |||
| James Harden | 3 | +1 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 25.0 | 8.7 | 19.5 | 44.7 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 32.9 | 6.2 | 7.4 | 83.7 | 20 | 1,346 |
| difference: | +0.9 | +1.6 | +3.3 | +0.8 | +1.4 | +3.5 | +3.4 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +2.4 | +4 | +195 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 33,643 | 11,719 | 26,200 | 44.7 | 1,827 | 5,546 | 32.9 | 8,378 | 10,011 | 83.7 | 20 | 1,346 |
| difference: | +5,956 | +3,545 | +7,590 | +0.8 | +1,348 | +3,204 | +3.4 | +214 | +533 | +2.4 | +4 | +195 |
| 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 | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 25.6 | 9.2 | 20.5 | 44.8 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 33.1 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 81.6 | 15 | 220 |
| difference: | +3.1 | +2.4 | +4.5 | +2.3 | +1.2 | +3.4 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +5.3 | +1 | +47 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Kobe Bryant | 5,640 | 2,014 | 4,499 | 44.8 | 292 | 882 | 33.1 | 1,320 | 1,617 | 81.6 | 15 | 220 |
| difference: | +1,745 | +841 | +1,739 | +2.3 | +142 | +393 | +0.9 | +205 | +334 | +5.3 | +1 | +47 |
| 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
= NBA Scoring Leader
= NBA ChampionRegular Season
Kobe Bryant's additional seasons: | ||||
* Kobe Bryant played 2 seasons more than James Harden in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 19 to 20, from 2015 to 2016—he averaged 19.2 points in a total of 101 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kobe Bryant | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| James Harden | 28.6 | +28.6 | 2018 | 17 |
Season 17 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kobe Bryant | - | DNP | 2013 | 0 |
| James Harden | 21.2 | +21.2 | 2024 | 6 |
Season 18 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Kobe Bryant | - | DNP | 2014 | 0 |
| James Harden | 18.7 | +18.7 | 2025 | 7 |
Kobe Bryant's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, Kobe Bryant didn't play in the postseason. |