Paul George vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and Paul George 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 Paul George.
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 Paul George 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 3.5 points more than Paul George in his 15 seasons (24.1 points against 20.6), and he also scored a total of 8,990 points more (27,687 vs. 18,697).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Paul George | 20.6 | 15 | |
| James Harden | 24.1 | +3.5 | 16 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Paul George | 18,697 | 15 | |
| James Harden | 27,687 | +8,990 | 16 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Paul George | 0 | |
| James Harden | 3 |  +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 Paul George (+1.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+1,479).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Paul George | 21.2 | 11 | |
| James Harden | 22.5 | +1.3 | 16 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Paul George | 2,416 | 11 | |
| James Harden | 3,895 | +1,479 | 16 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 493 | |||
| James Harden | 736 | +243 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 802 | |||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +251 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul George | 901 | |||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +249 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul George | 7 | +6 | ||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 69 | |||
| James Harden | 101 | +32 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Paul George | 99 | |||
| James Harden | 155 | +56 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Paul George | 114 | |||
| James Harden | 170 | +56 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Paul George | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Paul George | 20.6 | 7.0 | 16.0 | 44.0 | 2.6 | 6.7 | 38.3 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 85.3 | 15 | 908 |
| difference: | +3.5 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +2.0 | +3.2 | +3.6 | +0.8 | +1 | +243 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paul George | 18,697 | 6,400 | 14,553 | 44.0 | 2,349 | 6,127 | 38.3 | 3,548 | 4,160 | 85.3 | 15 | 908 |
| difference: | +8,990 | +1,774 | +4,057 | +0.1 | +826 | +2,623 | +2.0 | +4,616 | +5,318 | +0.8 | +1 | +243 |
| 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 | ||||
| Paul George | 21.2 | 6.8 | 16.2 | 42.3 | 2.4 | 6.9 | 35.2 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 82.6 | 11 | 114 |
| difference: | +1.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +1.2 | +1.3 | +1.2 | +4.3 | +5 | +59 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Paul George | 2,416 | 779 | 1,842 | 42.3 | 276 | 783 | 35.2 | 582 | 705 | 82.6 | 11 | 114 |
| difference: | +1,479 | +394 | +918 | +0.2 | +158 | +492 | +1.2 | +533 | +578 | +4.3 | +5 | +59 |
| 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 LeaderRegular Season
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 2 seasons more than Paul George in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 16 to 17, from 2024 to 2025—he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 151 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| James Harden | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2014 | 6 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2022 | 0 |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Paul George | - | DNP | 2025 | 0 |
| James Harden | 20.3 | +20.3 | 2023 | 11 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 2 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 13 games. |