James Harden vs. Steve Smith Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Steve Smith 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.

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, 1 more than Steve Smith, who played 14. James Harden had the first of his seasons in 2009-10, while Steve Smith had his rookie season in 1991-92. 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.

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	Steve Smith
Season	2009-10	1991-92
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
	All-Rookie Second Team	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Heat 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	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
Steve Smith	61	29.6	12.0	1.3	1.8	3.1	4.6	1.0	0.3	2.5	2.7	4.9	10.7	.454	0.7	2.0	.320	1.6	2.1	.748
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
Steve Smith	3	33.3	16.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	5.0	1.3	0.3	1.0	0.7	6.0	11.3	.529	2.3	3.7	.636	1.7	2.0	.833

Season 3
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2011-12	1993-94
Team	Oklahoma City Thunder	Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	Sixth Man of the Year	-
Playoffs	Thunder Lost NBA Finals	Heat 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
Steve Smith	78	35.6	17.3	2.0	2.5	4.5	5.1	1.1	0.4	2.6	2.8	6.3	13.8	.456	1.2	3.4	.347	3.5	4.2	.835
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
Steve Smith	5	38.4	19.2	3.4	2.6	6.0	2.2	0.8	0.4	2.0	2.4	6.6	16.0	.413	1.8	4.4	.409	4.2	5.0	.840

Season 4
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2012-13	1994-95
Team	Houston Rockets	Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks 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
Steve Smith	80	33.3	16.3	1.3	2.2	3.5	3.4	0.8	0.4	1.9	2.8	5.4	12.6	.426	1.7	5.2	.329	3.9	4.6	.841
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
Steve Smith	3	36.0	19.0	0.3	2.3	2.7	2.0	2.0	0.3	1.0	4.7	5.7	14.3	.395	2.3	6.0	.389	5.3	6.3	.842

Season 5
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2013-14	1995-96
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Steve Smith	80	35.7	18.1	1.6	2.5	4.1	2.8	0.9	0.2	1.9	2.6	6.2	14.3	.432	1.8	5.3	.331	4.0	4.8	.826
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
Steve Smith	10	42.1	21.7	1.5	2.6	4.1	3.2	1.3	1.3	1.6	3.1	7.5	17.1	.439	2.5	6.1	.410	4.2	5.2	.808

Season 6
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2014-15	1996-97
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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
Steve Smith	72	39.1	20.1	1.3	2.1	3.3	4.2	0.9	0.3	2.4	2.4	6.8	15.9	.429	1.8	5.4	.335	4.6	5.5	.847
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
Steve Smith	10	42.0	18.9	1.2	2.7	3.9	1.7	0.4	0.1	2.8	3.8	5.5	13.9	.396	1.8	5.5	.327	6.1	7.4	.824

Season 7
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2015-16	1997-98
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks 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	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
Steve Smith	73	39.1	20.1	1.8	2.4	4.2	4.0	1.0	0.4	2.4	3.0	6.7	15.1	.444	1.3	3.8	.351	5.3	6.2	.855
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
Steve Smith	4	40.0	24.8	0.5	2.3	2.8	2.3	0.5	0.8	1.3	4.3	9.8	17.0	.574	2.5	5.0	.500	2.8	4.0	.688

Season 8
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2016-17	1998-99
Team	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Assists Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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	36.4	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
Steve Smith	36	36.5	18.7	1.4	2.8	4.2	3.3	1.0	0.3	2.8	2.8	6.0	15.0	.402	1.3	3.9	.338	5.3	6.3	.849
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
Steve Smith	9	39.6	17.3	1.6	1.9	3.4	3.3	1.6	0.2	2.3	3.6	6.0	17.0	.353	1.0	3.7	.273	4.3	4.8	.907

Season 9
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2017-18	1999-00
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West 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	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
Steve Smith	82	32.8	14.9	1.5	2.3	3.8	2.5	0.9	0.4	1.4	2.6	5.1	11.0	.467	1.2	2.9	.398	3.5	4.1	.850
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
Steve Smith	16	37.8	17.1	0.8	1.7	2.5	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.7	2.8	5.5	11.3	.486	1.8	3.3	.547	4.3	4.9	.885

Season 10
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2018-19	2000-01
Team	Houston Rockets	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	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	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
Steve Smith	81	31.4	13.6	1.1	2.3	3.4	2.6	0.6	0.3	1.7	2.5	4.4	9.7	.456	1.0	2.8	.339	3.8	4.3	.890
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
Steve Smith	3	40.7	17.0	1.7	2.7	4.3	2.3	0.7	0.3	3.3	1.0	5.3	11.3	.471	1.3	3.7	.364	5.0	5.3	.938

Season 11
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2019-20	2001-02
Team	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Scoring Leader	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf Semis	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis

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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	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
Steve Smith	77	28.7	11.6	0.6	1.9	2.5	2.0	0.7	0.2	1.4	2.1	4.0	8.9	.455	1.5	3.2	.472	2.1	2.4	.878
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
Steve Smith	10	29.8	10.3	1.4	2.0	3.4	1.7	0.8	0.1	0.7	2.0	3.2	8.7	.368	1.0	3.8	.263	2.9	3.0	.967

Season 12
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2020-21	2002-03
Team	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Nets Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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	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
Steve Smith	53	19.5	6.8	0.4	1.5	1.9	1.3	0.5	0.2	0.8	1.5	2.1	5.5	.388	0.7	2.2	.331	1.8	2.2	.833
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
Steve Smith	9	7.4	1.8	0.1	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.1	0.0	0.2	0.3	0.6	2.7	.208	0.2	1.3	.167	0.4	0.4	1.000

Season 13
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2021-22	2003-04
Team	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers	New Orleans Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Hornets 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	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
Steve Smith	71	13.1	5.0	0.4	0.8	1.1	0.8	0.2	0.1	0.6	1.3	1.7	4.1	.406	0.6	1.5	.402	1.1	1.2	.928
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
Steve Smith	5	9.0	6.4	0.4	1.2	1.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.0	2.4	5.2	.462	1.2	2.2	.545	0.4	0.6	.667

Season 14
	James Harden	Steve Smith
Season	2022-23	2004-05
Team	Philadelphia 76ers	Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat
Honors & Awards	Assists Leader	-
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Heat 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	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
Steve Smith	50	15.0	6.3	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.4	0.3	0.1	0.5	1.6	2.0	5.0	.411	0.8	2.1	.390	1.4	1.6	.863
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
Steve Smith	3	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-