James Harden vs. Rik Smits Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rik Smits 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, 3 more than Rik Smits, who played 12. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Rik Smits had his rookie season in 1988-89. 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
Rik Smits	12	10	1988-89 to 1999-00

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	Rik Smits
Season	2009-10	1988-89
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Rik Smits	82	24.9	11.7	2.3	3.8	6.1	0.9	0.5	1.8	1.6	3.8	4.7	9.1	.517	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	3.1	.722

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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2010-11	1989-90
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf Finals	Pacers Lost East 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
Rik Smits	82	29.3	15.5	1.6	4.6	6.2	1.7	0.5	2.1	1.7	4.0	6.3	11.8	.533	0.0	0.0	.000	2.9	3.6	.811

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
Rik Smits	3	32.0	12.3	1.3	4.0	5.3	1.0	0.7	1.3	1.7	4.0	4.7	9.3	.500	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.7	.818


Season 3
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2011-12	1990-91
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Pacers Lost East 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	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
Rik Smits	76	22.2	10.9	1.5	3.2	4.7	1.1	0.3	1.5	1.1	3.2	4.5	9.3	.485	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	2.5	.762

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
Rik Smits	5	17.6	9.8	0.8	2.8	3.6	0.4	0.2	1.4	1.0	4.6	4.2	7.4	.568	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.6	.875


Season 4
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2012-13	1991-92
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers Lost East 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	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
Rik Smits	74	23.9	13.8	1.7	4.0	5.6	1.6	0.4	1.4	1.8	3.1	5.9	11.6	.510	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	2.6	.788

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
Rik Smits	3	9.3	3.3	1.0	1.0	2.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	1.0	2.3	1.3	3.7	.364	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 5
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2013-14	1992-93
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers Lost East 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
Rik Smits	81	25.6	14.3	1.6	3.8	5.3	1.5	0.3	0.9	1.8	3.5	6.1	12.6	.486	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.8	.732

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
Rik Smits	4	35.8	22.5	3.3	4.8	8.0	1.8	1.3	1.0	2.0	4.5	9.3	16.0	.578	0.0	0.3	.000	4.0	5.5	.727


Season 6
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2014-15	1993-94
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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	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
Rik Smits	78	27.1	15.7	1.7	4.5	6.2	2.0	0.6	1.1	1.9	3.6	6.3	11.8	.534	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	3.8	.793

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
Rik Smits	16	28.1	16.0	1.4	3.8	5.3	1.9	0.6	0.6	2.7	4.0	6.4	13.6	.472	0.0	0.0	-	3.1	3.9	.806


Season 7
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2015-16	1994-95
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Pacers Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Rik Smits	78	30.5	17.9	2.5	5.2	7.7	1.4	0.5	1.0	2.4	3.6	7.2	13.6	.526	0.0	0.0	.000	3.6	4.8	.753

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
Rik Smits	17	32.1	20.1	1.9	5.1	7.0	2.0	0.3	0.8	2.0	4.3	7.5	13.6	.547	0.1	0.1	1.000	5.1	6.3	.804


Season 8
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2016-17	1995-96
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers 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	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
Rik Smits	63	30.2	18.5	1.9	5.0	6.9	1.7	0.3	0.7	2.5	3.6	7.4	14.2	.521	0.0	0.1	.200	3.7	4.7	.788

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
Rik Smits	5	33.2	19.0	2.6	4.8	7.4	1.6	0.4	0.4	2.8	4.0	8.4	15.4	.545	0.0	0.0	-	2.2	2.8	.786


Season 9
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2017-18	1996-97
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	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	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
Rik Smits	52	29.2	17.1	2.0	4.9	6.9	1.3	0.4	1.1	2.4	3.4	6.8	14.1	.486	0.0	0.2	.250	3.3	4.2	.797

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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2018-19	1997-98
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers 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	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
Rik Smits	73	28.6	16.7	1.7	5.2	6.9	1.4	0.5	1.2	1.8	3.3	7.0	14.2	.495	0.0	0.0	.000	2.6	3.3	.783

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
Rik Smits	16	29.8	16.6	1.1	4.3	5.3	1.3	0.5	0.9	1.3	4.2	6.6	13.1	.502	0.0	0.1	.000	3.4	4.0	.859


Season 11
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2019-20	1998-99
Team	Houston Rockets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Pacers 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	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
Rik Smits	49	25.9	14.9	1.5	4.1	5.6	1.1	0.4	1.1	1.5	3.2	6.3	12.9	.490	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	2.7	.818

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
Rik Smits	13	22.5	11.8	1.2	3.8	5.0	0.7	0.5	1.2	1.9	3.9	5.2	11.3	.456	0.0	0.0	-	1.5	1.5	.950


Season 12
	James Harden	Rik Smits
Season	2020-21	1999-00
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	Indiana Pacers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	Pacers Lost NBA Finals

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
Rik Smits	79	23.4	12.9	1.2	3.9	5.1	1.1	0.3	1.3	1.4	3.2	5.5	11.3	.484	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.7	.739

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
Rik Smits	22	20.9	11.0	1.1	2.5	3.5	1.0	0.5	0.9	1.2	3.8	4.7	9.4	.498	0.0	0.0	.000	1.6	1.8	.875


Season 13
	James Harden	Rik Smits
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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	James Harden	Rik Smits
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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	James Harden	Rik Smits
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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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
Rik Smits	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

James Harden vs. Rik Smits Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rik Smits 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