James Harden vs. Jim Paxson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jim Paxson and James Harden, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

James Harden played 15 years in the NBA, 4 more than Jim Paxson, who played 11. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Jim Paxson had his rookie season in 1979-80. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
James Harden	15	15	2009-10 to 2023-24
Jim Paxson	11	9	1979-80 to 1989-90

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15


Rookie Season
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2009-10	1979-80
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	76	22.9	9.9	0.6	2.6	3.2	1.8	1.1	0.3	1.4	2.6	3.1	7.6	.403	1.2	3.3	.375	2.6	3.2	.808
Jim Paxson	72	17.6	6.2	0.3	1.2	1.5	2.0	0.7	0.1	1.3	1.3	2.6	6.4	.411	0.0	0.3	.045	0.9	1.3	.711

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	20.0	7.7	0.2	2.3	2.5	1.8	1.0	0.2	0.5	2.3	2.0	5.2	.387	1.0	2.7	.375	2.7	3.2	.842
Jim Paxson	3	14.7	5.3	0.0	1.3	1.3	1.0	0.7	0.3	0.7	0.7	1.7	5.3	.313	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.0	1.000


Season 2
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2010-11	1980-81
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	82	26.7	12.2	0.5	2.6	3.1	2.1	1.1	0.3	1.3	2.5	3.6	8.3	.436	1.4	4.0	.349	3.5	4.2	.843
Jim Paxson	79	34.2	17.1	0.9	1.7	2.7	3.8	1.8	0.1	1.7	2.2	7.4	13.8	.536	0.0	0.4	.067	2.3	3.1	.734

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	17	31.6	13.0	0.6	4.8	5.4	3.6	1.2	0.8	1.6	2.8	3.9	8.2	.475	1.4	4.5	.303	3.9	4.7	.825
Jim Paxson	1	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 3
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2011-12	1981-82
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	62	31.4	16.8	0.5	3.6	4.1	3.7	1.0	0.2	2.2	2.4	5.0	10.1	.491	1.8	4.7	.390	5.0	6.0	.846
Jim Paxson	82	33.6	18.9	0.9	1.8	2.7	3.4	1.6	0.1	1.8	1.9	8.1	15.3	.526	0.1	0.4	.229	2.7	3.5	.767

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	20	31.5	16.3	0.7	4.5	5.1	3.4	1.6	0.1	2.1	3.4	4.7	10.7	.435	1.6	3.9	.410	5.4	6.3	.857
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2012-13	1982-83
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	78	38.3	25.9	0.8	4.1	4.9	5.8	1.8	0.5	3.8	2.3	7.5	17.1	.438	2.3	6.2	.368	8.6	10.2	.851
Jim Paxson	81	33.8	21.7	0.8	1.3	2.1	2.9	1.7	0.2	1.9	2.0	8.4	16.3	.515	0.0	0.3	.160	4.8	5.9	.812

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	40.5	26.3	0.8	5.8	6.7	4.5	2.0	1.0	4.5	3.0	7.5	19.2	.391	2.5	7.3	.341	8.8	11.0	.803
Jim Paxson	7	37.1	23.3	0.6	1.6	2.1	2.6	1.3	0.1	2.1	1.6	9.7	16.6	.586	0.3	0.6	.500	3.6	4.7	.758


Season 5
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2013-14	1983-84
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	73	38.0	25.4	0.8	3.9	4.7	6.1	1.6	0.4	3.6	2.4	7.5	16.5	.456	2.4	6.6	.366	7.9	9.1	.866
Jim Paxson	81	33.2	21.3	0.8	1.3	2.1	3.1	1.5	0.1	1.8	2.0	8.4	16.3	.514	0.2	0.7	.288	4.3	5.1	.841

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	43.8	26.8	0.8	3.8	4.7	5.8	2.0	0.2	3.5	3.5	8.3	22.2	.376	2.7	9.0	.296	7.5	8.3	.900
Jim Paxson	5	34.4	22.8	2.2	1.6	3.8	2.4	0.4	0.0	1.8	2.6	8.0	15.6	.513	0.2	1.0	.200	6.6	8.0	.825


Season 6
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2014-15	1984-85
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	81	36.8	27.4	0.9	4.7	5.7	7.0	1.9	0.7	4.0	2.6	8.0	18.1	.440	2.6	6.9	.375	8.8	10.2	.868
Jim Paxson	68	33.1	17.9	1.0	2.3	3.3	3.9	1.5	0.1	1.6	1.7	7.5	14.5	.514	0.1	0.6	.154	2.9	3.6	.790

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	17	37.4	27.2	0.7	5.0	5.7	7.5	1.6	0.4	4.5	2.9	7.6	17.3	.439	2.4	6.3	.383	9.6	10.5	.916
Jim Paxson	9	23.6	12.9	0.7	1.6	2.2	2.3	0.7	0.0	0.6	1.8	5.2	11.2	.465	0.3	1.1	.300	2.1	2.7	.792


Season 7
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2015-16	1985-86
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	82	38.1	29.0	0.8	5.3	6.1	7.5	1.7	0.6	4.6	2.8	8.7	19.7	.439	2.9	8.0	.359	8.8	10.2	.860
Jim Paxson	75	25.7	13.1	0.6	1.4	2.0	3.7	1.3	0.1	1.5	2.1	5.0	10.6	.470	0.3	0.8	.323	2.9	3.3	.889

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	5	38.6	26.6	1.4	3.8	5.2	7.6	2.4	0.2	5.2	2.6	8.2	20.0	.410	2.6	8.4	.310	7.6	9.0	.844
Jim Paxson	4	17.8	10.5	0.3	0.8	1.0	3.8	0.8	0.0	1.5	3.0	3.5	9.3	.378	0.5	1.5	.333	3.0	3.8	.800


Season 8
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2016-17	1986-87
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	81	36.4	29.1	1.2	7.0	8.1	11.2	1.5	0.5	5.7	2.7	8.3	18.9	.440	3.2	9.3	.347	9.2	10.9	.847
Jim Paxson	72	25.0	12.1	0.6	1.4	1.9	3.3	1.1	0.2	1.5	1.9	4.7	10.2	.460	0.4	1.4	.265	2.4	3.0	.806

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	11	37.0	28.5	0.6	4.8	5.5	8.5	1.9	0.5	5.4	3.9	8.2	19.8	.413	2.9	10.5	.278	9.2	10.5	.878
Jim Paxson	4	23.5	8.5	1.0	1.3	2.3	3.3	1.3	0.0	1.0	2.0	3.3	8.0	.406	0.0	0.5	.000	2.0	2.3	.889


Season 9
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2017-18	1987-88
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	72	35.4	30.4	0.6	4.8	5.4	8.8	1.8	0.7	4.4	2.3	9.0	20.1	.449	3.7	10.0	.367	8.7	10.1	.858
Jim Paxson	45	17.8	7.7	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.7	0.1	0.9	1.6	3.0	6.6	.460	0.1	0.5	.238	1.5	1.8	.861

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	17	36.5	28.6	0.8	4.4	5.2	6.8	2.2	0.6	3.8	2.7	9.3	22.6	.410	3.1	10.2	.299	6.9	7.8	.887
Jim Paxson	15	12.5	3.3	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.4	0.1	0.8	1.2	1.1	3.9	.288	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.3	.800


Season 10
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2018-19	1988-89
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	78	36.8	36.1	0.8	5.8	6.6	7.5	2.0	0.7	5.0	3.1	10.8	24.5	.442	4.8	13.2	.368	9.7	11.0	.879
Jim Paxson	57	20.0	8.6	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.9	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.7	3.5	7.8	.454	0.1	0.4	.167	1.5	1.8	.816

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	11	38.5	31.6	0.8	6.0	6.8	6.6	2.2	0.9	4.6	3.7	9.9	24.0	.413	4.4	12.5	.350	7.5	8.9	.837
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2019-20	1989-90
Team	Houston Rockets	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	68	36.5	34.3	1.0	5.5	6.6	7.5	1.8	0.9	4.5	3.3	9.9	22.3	.444	4.4	12.4	.355	10.2	11.8	.865
Jim Paxson	72	17.8	6.4	0.3	0.7	1.1	1.9	0.5	0.1	0.8	1.6	2.7	5.9	.453	0.1	0.3	.250	1.0	1.3	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	12	37.3	29.6	1.0	4.6	5.6	7.7	1.5	0.8	3.8	3.6	9.1	19.0	.478	3.3	9.8	.333	8.2	9.7	.845
Jim Paxson	5	12.4	3.8	0.0	0.0	0	1.4	1.0	0.0	0.6	0.2	1.6	3.2	.500	0.0	0.2	.000	0.6	0.8	.750


Season 12
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2020-21	-
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	44	36.6	24.6	0.8	7.1	7.9	10.8	1.2	0.8	4.0	2.3	7.8	16.7	.466	2.8	7.6	.362	6.3	7.3	.861
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	9	35.8	20.2	0.8	5.6	6.3	8.6	1.7	0.7	2.9	2.6	5.7	12.0	.472	2.7	7.3	.364	6.2	6.9	.903
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2021-22	-
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	65	37.2	22.0	0.8	6.8	7.7	10.3	1.3	0.6	4.4	2.4	6.3	15.3	.410	2.3	6.9	.330	7.2	8.2	.877
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	12	39.9	18.6	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.6	0.8	0.7	4.2	2.4	5.3	13.2	.405	2.3	6.3	.368	5.6	6.3	.893
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2022-23	-
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	-
Honors & Awards	Assists Leader	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	58	36.8	21.0	0.7	5.4	6.1	10.7	1.2	0.5	3.4	1.9	6.4	14.5	.441	2.8	7.2	.385	5.4	6.2	.867
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	11	38.8	20.3	0.5	5.6	6.2	8.3	1.8	0.4	3.2	2.5	6.5	16.6	.393	2.8	7.5	.378	4.4	5.0	.873
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	James Harden	Jim Paxson
Season	2023-24	-
Team	Los Angeles Clippers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	72	34.3	16.6	0.5	4.7	5.1	8.5	1.1	0.8	2.6	1.8	4.9	11.4	.428	2.6	6.8	.381	4.2	4.8	.878
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
James Harden	6	40.3	21.2	0.5	4.0	4.5	8.0	1.0	1.0	2.3	2.2	6.7	14.8	.449	3.0	7.8	.383	4.8	5.3	.906
Jim Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

James Harden vs. Jim Paxson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jim Paxson and James Harden, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15