Hakeem Olajuwon vs James Harden
Hakeem Olajuwon leads 5 of 8 career categories against James Harden, including rebounding (11.1 RPG) and per-minute impact (23.8 PER). The two never shared an NBA floor — Hakeem Olajuwon's last season was 2001-02, and James Harden debuted in 2025-26.
The case for Hakeem Olajuwon: rebounding (11.1 RPG), per-minute impact (23.8 PER), career value (150.5 Win Shares), and 2 more.
The case for James Harden: scoring (23.6 PPG), playmaking (8.0 APG), shooting efficiency (61.0% TS%).
PPG
21.823.6
RPG
11.14.8
APG
2.58.0
TS%
55.3%61.0%
PER
23.820.6
Win Shares
150.57.7
games played
123870
MVPs / All-Star nods
1 MVP · 2 FMVP · 2 DPOY · 12 All-NBA · 12 AS—
Per Game
| Hakeem Olajuwon | James Harden | |
|---|---|---|
| G | 1238 | 70 |
| MIN | 35.7 | 34.9 |
| PTS | 21.8 | 23.6 |
| REB | 11.1 | 4.8 |
| AST | 2.5 | 8.0 |
| STL | 1.7 | 1.1 |
| BLK | 3.1 | 0.4 |
| FG% | 51.2 | 43.4 |
| 3P% | 20.2 | 37.5 |
| FT% | 71.2 | 88.4 |
Advanced
| Hakeem Olajuwon | James Harden | |
|---|---|---|
| PER | 23.8 | 20.6 |
| TS% | 55.3 | 61.0 |
| USG% | 27.4 | 28.9 |
| WS | 150.5 | 7.7 |
| WS/48 | 0.175 | 0.151 |
| BPM | 4.6 | 4.3 |
| VORP | 69.2 | 3.9 |
Accolades
| Hakeem Olajuwon | James Harden | |
|---|---|---|
| MVP | 1 | — |
| Finals MVP | 2 | — |
| Defensive POY | 2 | — |
| All-NBA | 12 | — |
| All-Star | 12 | — |
| All-Defensive | 9 | — |
| All-Rookie | 1 | — |
Career percentiles
Scoring9395
Efficiency7277
Playmaking6599
Rebounding9771
Defense9974
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