Penny Hardaway vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and Penny Hardaway 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 Penny Hardaway.
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 Penny Hardaway 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 17 NBA regular seasons played, James Harden averages 8.8 points more than Penny Hardaway in his 14 seasons (24.0 points against 15.2), and he also scored a total of 17,112 points more (27,796 vs. 10,684).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 14 | |
| James Harden | 24.0 | +8.8 | 17 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 14 | |
| James Harden | 27,796 | +17,112 | 17 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 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 Penny Hardaway (+2.1 points per game) and he also scored more points (+2,591).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | 8 | |
| James Harden | 22.5 | +2.1 | 16 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 8 | |
| James Harden | 3,895 | +2,591 | 16 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 215 | |||
| James Harden | 740 | +525 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 502 | |||
| James Harden | 1,058 | +556 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 683 | |||
| James Harden | 1,155 | +472 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 21 | +20 | ||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 26 | |||
| James Harden | 101 | +75 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 62 | |||
| James Harden | 155 | +93 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 64 | |||
| James Harden | 170 | +106 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 15.2 | 5.7 | 12.4 | 45.8 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 31.6 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 77.4 | 14 | 704 |
| difference: | +8.8 | +1.4 | +3.8 | +1.8 | +2.1 | +5.3 | +4.7 | +4.0 | +4.2 | +8.8 | +3 | +452 |
| James Harden | 24.0 | 7.1 | 16.2 | 43.9 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 36.3 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
Total Stats
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 10,684 | 3,995 | 8,731 | 45.8 | 503 | 1,591 | 31.6 | 2,191 | 2,831 | 77.4 | 14 | 704 |
| difference: | +17,112 | +4,212 | +9,949 | +1.8 | +2,686 | +7,200 | +4.7 | +6,002 | +6,679 | +8.8 | +3 | +452 |
| James Harden | 27,796 | 8,207 | 18,680 | 43.9 | 3,189 | 8,791 | 36.3 | 8,193 | 9,510 | 86.2 | 17 | 1,156 |
Playoffs
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 20.4 | 7.1 | 15.9 | 44.8 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 38.0 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 74.6 | 8 | 64 |
| difference: | +2.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +2.3 | +0.9 | +3.2 | +4.0 | +1.9 | +1.3 | +12.3 | +8 | +109 |
| 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 | ||||
| Penny Hardaway | 1,304 | 456 | 1,018 | 44.8 | 101 | 266 | 38.0 | 291 | 390 | 74.6 | 8 | 64 |
| difference: | +2,591 | +717 | +1,742 | +2.3 | +333 | +1,009 | +4.0 | +824 | +893 | +12.3 | +8 | +109 |
| 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 3 seasons more than Penny Hardaway in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 15 to 17, from 2024 to 2026—he averaged 19.9 points in a total of 156 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 22.8 ppg and his lowest 16.6. |
Playoffs
Season 5 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 1998 | 0 |
| James Harden | 26.8 | +26.8 | 2014 | 6 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2001 | 0 |
| James Harden | 28.5 | +28.5 | 2017 | 11 |
Season 9 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2002 | 0 |
| James Harden | 28.6 | +28.6 | 2018 | 17 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2005 | 0 |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
Season 13 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2006 | 0 |
| James Harden | 18.6 | +18.6 | 2022 | 12 |
Season 14 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Penny Hardaway | - | DNP | 2008 | 0 |
| James Harden | 20.3 | +20.3 | 2023 | 11 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 3 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in two Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 13 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 18.7. |