Gary Payton vs James Harden
James Harden leads 5 of 8 career categories against Gary Payton, including scoring (23.6 PPG) and rebounding (4.8 RPG). The two never shared an NBA floor — Gary Payton's last season was 2006-07, and James Harden debuted in 2025-26.
The case for Gary Payton: career value (144.0 Win Shares), longevity (1335 games played), accolades (1 DPOY · 9 All-NBA · 9 AS MVPs / All-Star nods).
The case for James Harden: scoring (23.6 PPG), rebounding (4.8 RPG), playmaking (8.0 APG), and 2 more.
PPG
16.323.6
RPG
3.94.8
APG
6.78.0
TS%
52.8%61.0%
PER
18.920.6
Win Shares
144.07.7
games played
133570
MVPs / All-Star nods
1 DPOY · 9 All-NBA · 9 AS—
Per Game
| Gary Payton | James Harden | |
|---|---|---|
| G | 1335 | 70 |
| MIN | 35.3 | 34.9 |
| PTS | 16.3 | 23.6 |
| REB | 3.9 | 4.8 |
| AST | 6.7 | 8.0 |
| STL | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| BLK | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| FG% | 46.6 | 43.4 |
| 3P% | 31.7 | 37.5 |
| FT% | 72.9 | 88.4 |
Advanced
| Gary Payton | James Harden | |
|---|---|---|
| PER | 18.9 | 20.6 |
| TS% | 52.8 | 61.0 |
| USG% | 22.5 | 28.9 |
| WS | 144.0 | 7.7 |
| WS/48 | 0.147 | 0.151 |
| BPM | 3.4 | 4.3 |
| VORP | 65.0 | 3.9 |
Accolades
| Gary Payton | James Harden | |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive POY | 1 | — |
| All-NBA | 9 | — |
| All-Star | 9 | — |
| All-Defensive | 9 | — |
| All-Rookie | 1 | — |
Career percentiles
Scoring8195
Efficiency5677
Playmaking9599
Rebounding6071
Defense8274
Compare Gary Payton to someone else · Compare James Harden to someone else