James Harden vs. Paul Pierce: NBA Rankings Comparison

The ultimate statistical showdown: compare James Harden and Paul Pierce all-time NBA rankings. Explore their historical standing across total and per-game stats, regular season and playoffs. Who ranks higher?

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other
Filter: Career Stats - Clippers - Nets

This in-depth analysis goes beyond basic career numbers to provide an unparalleled look at where James Harden, with a career spanning 17 seasons from 2010 to 2026, and Paul Pierce, with 19 seasons played from 1999 to 2017, stand among the league's historical elite..

Dive into a meticulous breakdown of their positions in every major statistical category—from scoring, rebounding and assists to steals, blocks, triple-doubles, and rankings by points thresholds—across both regular season and their entire playoff careers. Our comprehensive tables offer side-by-side rankings, value comparisons, and key differences, ensuring you have all the definitive data to assess their historical impact.

First, review a concise summary of how they rank in NBA history in the main categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, and 3-pointers made as a bonus) for both total and per-game stats, and below, you can then explore in detail all their stats and their historical rankings.

James Harden vs. Paul Pierce
Total Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Totals
Season Playoffs
James Harden Paul Pierce James Harden Paul Pierce
Points
11th
18th
14th
23rd
Rebounds
161st
94th
60th
55th
Assists
13th
84th
8th
54th
Steals
25th
22nd
12th
31st
Blocks
202nd
175th
84th
75th
3-Pointers Made
2nd
15th
4th
14th
Years17191614

James Harden vs. Paul Pierce
Per Game Stats, Rankings Summary

Career Per Game
Season Playoffs
James Harden Paul Pierce James Harden Paul Pierce
Points
27th
77th
51st
127th
Rebounds
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
Assists
31st
+300th
39th
266th
Steals
84th
149th
47th
178th
Blocks
+300th
+300th
+300th
+300th
3-Pointers Made
11th
142nd
15th
124th

Comparisons on this page:

Their rankings for:
Season Totals - Playoffs Totals /
Season Per Game - Playoffs Per Game

Note: per game rankings include players with a minimum of games played

Career Totals,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
11th
18th
7 27,772 vs. 26,3971,375
Rebounds
161st
94th
67 6,492 vs. 7,5271,035
Assists
13th
84th
71 8,348 vs. 4,7083,640
Steals
25th
22nd
3 1,720 vs. 1,75232
Blocks
202nd
175th
27 656 vs. 74589
Offensive Rebounds
+300th
+300th
871 vs. 1,092221
Defensive Rebounds
59th
43rd
16 5,621 vs. 6,435814
Field Goals Made
39th
29th
10 8,199 vs. 8,668469
Field Goals Attempted
31st
22nd
9 18,661 vs. 19,465804
3-Pointers Made
2nd
15th
13 3,185 vs. 2,1431,042
3-Pointers Attempted
2nd
13th
11 8,778 vs. 5,8162,962
Free Throws Made
5th
11th
6 8,189 vs. 6,9181,271
Free Throws Attempted
7th
14th
7 9,505 vs. 8,578927

Games and Years:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
66th
17th
49 1,155 vs. 1,343188
Seasons
58th
12th
46 17 vs. 192

Triple-Doubles:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
8th
69th
61 80 vs. 971

Rankings by Points Scored:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
4th
57th
53 105 vs. 2184
50+ point games
4th
76th
72 24 vs. 123
60+ point games
4th
-
4 vs. 04
70+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Totals,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points
14th
23rd
9 3,895 vs. 3,180715
Rebounds
60th
55th
5 948 vs. 98537
Assists
8th
54th
46 1,125 vs. 579546
Steals
12th
31st
19 282 vs. 20478
Blocks
84th
75th
9 98 vs. 1057
Offensive Rebounds
195th
198th
3 126 vs. 1251
Defensive Rebounds
35th
31st
4 822 vs. 86038
Field Goals Made
24th
35th
11 1,173 vs. 1,022151
Field Goals Attempted
18th
27th
9 2,760 vs. 2,415345
3-Pointers Made
4th
14th
10 434 vs. 276158
3-Pointers Attempted
3rd
14th
11 1,275 vs. 777498
Free Throws Made
9th
16th
7 1,115 vs. 860255
Free Throws Attempted
11th
20th
9 1,283 vs. 1,036247

Games and Years:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Games Played
23rd
26th
3 173 vs. 1703
Playoffs
10th
30th
20 16 vs. 142

Triple-Doubles:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Triple-Doubles
13th
39th
26 4 vs. 13

Rankings by Points Scored:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
40+ point games
9th
49th
40 11 vs. 38
50+ point games
-
-
0 vs. 00

Career Per Game Averages,
Regular Season Rankings

Stats Rankings:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
27th
77th
50 24.05 vs. 19.664.39
Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
5.62 vs. 5.600.02
Assists per game
31st
+300th
+269 7.23 vs. 3.513.72
Steals per game
84th
149th
65 1.49 vs. 1.300.18
Blocks per game
+300th
+300th
0.57 vs. 0.550.01
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
0.75 vs. 0.810.06
Defensive Rebounds per game
165th
173rd
8 4.87 vs. 4.790.08
Field Goals Made per game
107th
183rd
76 7.10 vs. 6.450.64
Field Goals Attempted per game
70th
151st
81 16.16 vs. 14.491.66
3-Pointers Made per game
11th
142nd
131 2.76 vs. 1.601.16
3-Pointers Attempted per game
5th
98th
93 7.60 vs. 4.333.27
Free Throws Made per game
6th
47th
41 7.09 vs. 5.151.94
Free Throws Attempted per game
18th
56th
38 8.23 vs. 6.391.84

Career Per Game Averages,
Playoffs Rankings

Stats Rankings:

James Harden Paul Pierce Rk Diff. Values Diff.
Points per game
51st
127th
76 22.51 vs. 18.713.81
Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
5.48 vs. 5.790.31
Assists per game
39th
266th
227 6.50 vs. 3.413.10
Steals per game
47th
178th
131 1.63 vs. 1.200.43
Blocks per game
+300th
+300th
0.57 vs. 0.620.05
Offensive Rebounds per game
+300th
+300th
0.73 vs. 0.740.01
Defensive Rebounds per game
181st
149th
32 4.75 vs. 5.060.31
Field Goals Made per game
143rd
208th
65 6.78 vs. 6.010.77
Field Goals Attempted per game
109th
177th
68 15.95 vs. 14.211.75
3-Pointers Made per game
15th
124th
109 2.51 vs. 1.620.89
3-Pointers Attempted per game
10th
117th
107 7.37 vs. 4.572.80
Free Throws Made per game
21st
79th
58 6.45 vs. 5.061.39
Free Throws Attempted per game
39th
96th
57 7.42 vs. 6.091.32

Note: the per game rankings on this page respect the minimums usually applied by the NBA for all-time leaders, 400 games for regular season stats unless the player reached these thresholds before: 10,000 points; 4,000 rebounds; 2,000 assists; 625 steals; 500 blocks; 250 3-pointers made. Also 3 minimum games for the Playoffs are applied.