Tim Duncan vs. James Harden: Career Scoring Comparison
We break down the scoring legacies of James Harden and Tim Duncan 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 Tim Duncan are among the all-time leaders in points in NBA history—combining for a total of 54,183 points—. James Harden is also one of the all-time leaders in points per game. Here we compare their scoring stats.
By taking a look at their career numbers for points, the first conclusion one can arrive at is that James Harden has better scoring averages both in the regular season and Playoffs and also scored more total points during the season while Tim Duncan scored more points in the postseason. 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 5.1 points more than Tim Duncan in his 19 seasons (24.1 points against 19.0), and he also scored a total of 1,191 points more (27,687 vs. 26,496).
Points Per Game | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 19 | |
| James Harden | 24.1 | +5.1 | 16 |
Total Points | Seasons | ||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | 19 | |
| James Harden | 27,687 | +1,191 | 16 |
Scoring Titles | ||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |
| James Harden | 3 |  +3 |
Points in the Playoffs
In the NBA postseason James Harden has a better career point average than Tim Duncan (+1.9 points per game) while Tim Duncan scored more points (+1,277).
Points Per Game | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 18 | |
| James Harden | 22.5 | +1.9 | 16 |
Total Points | Playoffs | ||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | +1,277 | 18 |
| James Harden | 3,895 | 16 | |
Points by Thresholds
Regular Season
60+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 0 | |||
| James Harden | 4 | +4 | ||
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 639 | |||
| James Harden | 736 | +97 | ||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,256 | +203 | ||
| James Harden | 1,053 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1,390 | +240 | ||
| James Harden | 1,150 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 2 | +1 | ||
| James Harden | 1 | |||
Playoffs
20+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 137 | +36 | ||
| James Harden | 101 | |||
10+ Point Games | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 232 | +77 | ||
| James Harden | 155 | |||
1+ Point Games (games with points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 250 | +80 | ||
| James Harden | 170 | |||
0 Point Games (games without points) | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 1 | |||
| James Harden | 3 | +2 | ||
Career Shooting Stats Comparison
Regular Season
Stats Per Game
| Pts | FGM / A | % | 3PM / A | % | FTM / A | % | Yrs | Gms | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 19.0 | 7.4 | 14.6 | 50.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 17.9 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 69.6 | 19 | 1,392 |
| difference: | +5.1 | +0.3 | +1.6 | +6.7 | +2.8 | +7.5 | +18.4 | +2.9 | +2.1 | +16.5 | +3 | +241 |
| 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 | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 26,496 | 10,285 | 20,334 | 50.6 | 30 | 168 | 17.9 | 5,896 | 8,468 | 69.6 | 19 | 1,392 |
| difference: | +1,191 | +2,111 | +1,724 | +6.7 | +3,145 | +8,582 | +18.4 | +2,268 | +1,010 | +16.5 | +3 | +241 |
| 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 | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 20.6 | 7.9 | 15.7 | 50.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14.3 | 4.8 | 7.0 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
| difference: | +1.9 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +7.6 | +2.5 | +7.3 | +19.7 | +1.6 | +0.4 | +18.0 | +2 | +78 |
| 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 | ||||
| Tim Duncan | 5,172 | 1,975 | 3,939 | 50.1 | 5 | 35 | 14.3 | 1,217 | 1,766 | 68.9 | 18 | 251 |
| difference: | +1,277 | +802 | +1,179 | +7.6 | +429 | +1,240 | +19.7 | +102 | +483 | +18.0 | +2 | +78 |
| 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
Tim Duncan's additional seasons: | ||||
* Tim Duncan played 1 season more than James Harden in the NBA. In that year—his season 19 in 2016—he averaged 8.6 points in a total of 61 regular season games. |
Playoffs
Season 3 | Points per game | Year | Games | |
| Tim Duncan | - | DNP | 2000 | 0 |
| James Harden | 16.3 | +16.3 | 2012 | 20 |
Tim Duncan's additional Playoffs: | ||||
* In his additional NBA year, Tim Duncan played in the Playoffs. In those postseasons he averaged 5.9 points in a total of 10 games. |