Stephen Curry vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and Stephen Curry 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 and Stephen Curry are among the most prolific scorers in NBA history—combining for an staggering season total of 53,073 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 Stephen Curry has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more points in during the postseason while James Harden scored more points in the regular season. 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, Stephen Curry averages 0.6 points more than James Harden in his 16 seasons (24.7 points against 24.1). On the other hand James Harden scored a total of 2,301 points more than Stephen Curry (27,687 vs. 25,386).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Stephen Curry | 24.7 | +0.6 | 16 |
| James Harden | 24.1 | 16 | |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Stephen Curry | 25,386 | 16 | |
| James Harden | 27,687 | +2,301 | 16 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Stephen Curry | 2 |  |
| James Harden | 3 | +1 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason Stephen Curry has a better career point average than James Harden (+4.3 points per game) and he also scored more points (+252).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Stephen Curry | 26.8 | +4.3 | 10 |
| James Harden | 22.5 | 16 | |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Stephen Curry | 4,147 | +252 | 10 |
| James Harden | 3,895 | 16 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 2 | |||
| James Harden | 4 | +2 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 717 | |||
| James Harden | 736 | +19 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 967 | |||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +86 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 1,021 | |||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +129 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 5 | +4 | ||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
Playoffs
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 1 | +1 | ||
| James Harden | 0 | |||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 123 | +22 | ||
| James Harden | 101 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 153 | |||
| James Harden | 155 | +2 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 155 | |||
| James Harden | 170 | +15 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 3 | +3 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 24.7 | 8.4 | 17.9 | 47.1 | 4.0 | 9.3 | 42.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 91.1 | 16 | 1,026 |
| difference: | +0.6 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +3.2 | +1.2 | +1.7 | +6.0 | +3.2 | +3.9 | +5.0 | +125 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 25,386 | 8,648 | 18,356 | 47.1 | 4,058 | 9,589 | 42.3 | 4,032 | 4,424 | 91.1 | 16 | 1,026 |
| difference: | +2,301 | +474 | +254 | +3.2 | +883 | +839 | +6.0 | +4,132 | +5,054 | +5.0 | +125 | |
| 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 | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 26.8 | 9.0 | 19.7 | 45.4 | 4.2 | 10.6 | 39.7 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 88.9 | 10 | 155 |
| difference: | +4.3 | +2.2 | +3.7 | +2.9 | +1.7 | +3.2 | +5.7 | +1.7 | +2.2 | +2.0 | +6 | +18 |
| 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 | ||||
| Stephen Curry | 4,147 | 1,388 | 3,056 | 45.4 | 650 | 1,637 | 39.7 | 721 | 811 | 88.9 | 10 | 155 |
| difference: | +252 | +215 | +296 | +2.9 | +216 | +362 | +5.7 | +394 | +472 | +2.0 | +6 | +18 |
| 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
James Harden's additional seasons: | ||||
* James Harden played 2 seasons more than Stephen Curry in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 17 to 18, from 2024 to 2025—he averaged 19.8 points in a total of 151 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Rookie Season | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2010 | 0 |
| James Harden | 7.7 | +7.7 | 2010 | 6 |
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2011 | 0 |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2012 | 0 |
| James Harden | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2012 | 20 |
Season 11 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2020 | 0 |
| James Harden | 29.6 | +29.6 | 2020 | 12 |
Season 12 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| James Harden | 20.2 | +20.2 | 2021 | 9 |
Season 15 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Stephen Curry | - | DNP | 2024 | 0 |
| James Harden | 18.6 | +18.6 | 2022 | 12 |
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. |