Steven Adams vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and Steven Adams 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 Steven Adams.
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 Steven Adams 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: |
|
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 15.3 points more than Steven Adams in his 11 seasons (24.1 points against 8.8), and he also scored a total of 20,944 points more (27,687 vs. 6,743).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Steven Adams | 8.8 | 11 | |
| James Harden | 24.1 | +15.3 | 16 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Steven Adams | 6,743 | 11 | |
| James Harden | 27,687 | +20,944 | 16 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Steven Adams | 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 Steven Adams (+15 points per game) and he also scored more points (+3,346).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Steven Adams | 7.5 | 8 | |
| James Harden | 22.5 | +15.0 | 16 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Steven Adams | 549 | 8 | |
| James Harden | 3,895 | +3,346 | 16 |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
50+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 24 | +24 | ||
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 105 | +105 | ||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 330 | +330 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 40 | |||
| James Harden | 736 | +696 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 318 | |||
| James Harden | 1,053 | +735 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Steven Adams | 728 | |||
| James Harden | 1,150 | +422 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Steven Adams | 36 | +35 | ||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
Playoffs
40+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 11 | +11 | ||
30+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 49 | +49 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 101 | +101 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Steven Adams | 22 | |||
| James Harden | 155 | +133 | ||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Steven Adams | 63 | |||
| James Harden | 170 | +107 | ||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Steven Adams | 10 | +7 | ||
| James Harden | 3 | |||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Steven Adams | 8.8 | 3.7 | 6.3 | 58.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 53.3 | 11 | 764 |
| difference: | +15.3 | +3.4 | +9.9 | +14.7 | +2.8 | +7.6 | +30.4 | +5.6 | +5.4 | +32.8 | +5 | +387 |
| 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 | ||||
| Steven Adams | 6,743 | 2,804 | 4,786 | 58.6 | 1 | 17 | 5.9 | 1,134 | 2,129 | 53.3 | 11 | 764 |
| difference: | +20,944 | +5,370 | +13,824 | +14.7 | +3,174 | +8,733 | +30.4 | +7,030 | +7,349 | +32.8 | +5 | +387 |
| 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 | ||||
| Steven Adams | 7.5 | 3.1 | 5.0 | 61.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 53.4 | 8 | 73 |
| difference: | +15.0 | +3.7 | +11.0 | +18.9 | +2.5 | +7.4 | +34.0 | +5.0 | +4.8 | +33.5 | +8 | +100 |
| 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 | ||||
| Steven Adams | 549 | 224 | 365 | 61.4 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | 101 | 189 | 53.4 | 8 | 73 |
| difference: | +3,346 | +949 | +2,395 | +18.9 | +434 | +1,272 | +34.0 | +1,014 | +1,094 | +33.5 | +8 | +100 |
| 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 5 seasons more than Steven Adams in the NBA. In those years—his seasons 12 to 16, from 2021 to 2025—he averaged 21.1 points in a total of 318 regular season games. During that period, his highest average was 24.6 ppg and his lowest 16.6. |
Playoffs
Season 2 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | - | DNP | 2015 | 0 |
| James Harden | 13.0 | +13.0 | 2011 | 17 |
Season 8 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | - | DNP | 2021 | 0 |
| James Harden | 28.5 | +28.5 | 2017 | 11 |
Season 10 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Steven Adams | - | DNP | 2023 | 0 |
| James Harden | 31.6 | +31.6 | 2019 | 11 |
James Harden's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* During his 5 additional NBA seasons, James Harden played in 5 Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 19.7 points in a total of 45 games. His highest playoff average during that period was 21.2 ppg and his lowest 18.6. |