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Player profile · BRK / CLE / HOU / LAC / OKC / PHI

Illustrated portrait of NBA player James Harden

James Harden

James Harden advanced stats and career rankings

RolePG · Age 36
Availability70 games · 70 starts
Workload34.8 MPG · 2,438 minutes
Relative impactCLE/LAC #1 of 1 · PG #12 of 70
UpdatedJul 21, 2026
EvidenceStrong

Low ranking precision · Likely rank #15–#283

Bottom line · 2025–26

James Harden delivered an outstanding 2025–26 campaign, ranking 45th in per-minute impact. His box-score profile ranked 32nd, led by high-volume, efficient scoring. Playing about 2,400 minutes, he finished in the 93rd percentile for total season value.

2025–26 NBA percentile rankings: What drives James Harden's impact

395 qualified NBA playersEvery player in the comparison logged at least 450 minutes.
Compare with

Overall value

Impact Rate
89
83.1
Season Value
93
77.4

Scoring role

Usage
94
28.6%
True shooting
76
61.0%
3-point attempt rate
66
51.0%
Free-throw rate
94
46.7%

Creation and control

Assist rate
96
34.7%
Turnover avoidance
16
15.3%

Possession stats

Rebound rate
40
7.9%
Steal rate
49
1.6%
Block rate
38
1.1%

Lineup signal

Offensive lineup impact387-player lineup pool
93
+2.54
Defensive lineup impact387-player lineup pool
5
−2.23

Workload

Minutes per game
97
34.8
Games played
72
70
Total minutes
94
2,438

Farther right means more of the named trait, not automatically better basketball. Turnover avoidance reverses turnover rate. Lineup rows exclude players below the 1,000-possession lineup-sample floor.

Every season

James Harden advanced stats by season

Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.

SeasonTeamAgeGPMPEra-centered box impactImpact RateRate rankSeason ValueValue percentileEvidence
2025–26live modelCLE/LAC36702,438+3.1983.1#4577.493rdStrong
2024–25LAC35792,789+3.4093.6#26305.798thStrong
2023–24LAC34722,470+3.4093.2#26270.395thStrong
2022–23PHI33582,135+4.6495.0#20286.096thStrong
2021–22BRK/PHI32652,419+3.9494.3#23293.597thStrong
2020–21BRK/HOU31441,609+6.6097.8#9287.997thStrong
2019–20Historical Defense EstimateHOU30682,483+9.3399.7#2607.9100thStrong
2018–19Historical Defense EstimateHOU29782,867+10.27100.0#1717.7100thStrong
2017–18Historical Defense EstimateHOU28722,551+8.99100.0#1570.0100thStrong
2016–17Historical Defense EstimateHOU27812,947+7.9999.2#4613.5100thStrong
2015–16Historical Defense EstimateHOU26823,125+6.7698.6#6556.7100thStrong
2014–15Historical Defense EstimateHOU25812,981+8.4999.2#4628.9100thStrong
2013–14Historical Defense EstimateHOU24732,777+4.4896.2#14361.398thStrong
2012–13Historical Defense EstimateHOU23782,985+4.6798.3#7398.899thStrong
2011–12Historical Defense EstimateOKC22621,946+2.9390.1#35186.091stStrong
2010–11Historical Defense EstimateOKC21822,189+1.2078.3#77135.279thStrong
2009–10Historical Defense EstimateOKC20761,738+0.4869.9#10283.568thStrong

Career movement

James Harden's career impact by season

Peak +10.27 in 2018–19 · 17 seasons · 42,449 minutes

The same historical box-score model is used for every season, making the career shape comparable through time. This is separate from the current lineup-context ranking.

Era-centered box impactMinutes
Across-era box estimateWorkload

Career comparison

Compare the shape, not the calendar

Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.

James HardenKevin Durant

NBA season number · fixed impact axis −5 to +15

Similar career arcs

Players with careers similar to James Harden

The score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and trajectory aligned by NBA experience. It describes career shape, not playing style or equal ability.

SF · All-Time Career #18

Kevin Durant

89%

career match

84% season match · 2018–19 ↔ 2015–16PG · All-Time Career #13

Stephen Curry

86%

career match

91% season match · 2018–19 ↔ 2015–16SG · All-Time Career #25

Dwyane Wade

86%

career match

91% season match · 2018–19 ↔ 2009–10PG · All-Time Career #20

John Stockton

85%

career match

87% season match · 2018–19 ↔ 1991–92SG · All-Time Career #30

Tracy McGrady

85%

career match

84% season match · 2018–19 ↔ 2002–03PF · All-Time Career #7

Kevin Garnett

84%

career match

81% season match · 2018–19 ↔ 2004–05

Why this rank?

Why James Harden ranks #45

The current model starts with box production, checks it against multi-season lineup evidence, caps that correction, then accounts for how many minutes the player was trusted to play each game.

01 · Box-score prior+1.81

Prior rank #32

02 · Multi-season RAPM+0.90

Current total +0.76 ±0.9
Split model · O +2.54 · D -2.23 = +0.32

03 · Bounded correction-0.22

Maximum ±0.75

04 · Model estimate+1.59

Before the within-season scale

05 · MPG-adjusted rate83.1

83.1 unadjusted · 100% role factor · rank #45

RAPM estimates lineup impact while controlling for the other nine players on the floor. The multi-season blend, current total model, and current offensive/defensive split are separate estimates, so they need not equal one another. hussEyquation uses the multi-season signal as a bounded correction, not as a standalone verdict.

What the point estimate meansLow precision

The model's 80% impact interval is -0.67 to +3.83. Exact ordering is difficult when many players have overlapping estimates.

Top 25 chance
17%
Top 50 chance
30%
Top 100 chance
49%
80% rank range
#15–#283
How to read this page

Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played. The career ranking rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →