Cross-era · careers 32 years apart

John Havlicek vs James Harden

John Havlicek 1962-1977 · Forward James Harden 2009-2025 · Guard · active

John Havlicek (1962-1977) and James Harden (2009-2025) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 32 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, James Harden was the higher-volume scorer (24.0 points per game to 20.8); adjusted for era they scored at 1.89× and 2.39× their league average respectively; James Harden was the more efficient scorer (64.1% true shooting to 49.2%). John Havlicek holds the edge on accolades — 8 championships, 1 Finals MVP and the #11 all-time ranking to James Harden's #41.

Career averages

John HavlicekStatJames Harden
20.8 Points / game 24.0
6.3 Rebounds / game 5.6
4.8 Assists / game 7.3
0.4 Steals / game 1.5
0.1 Blocks / game 0.6
43.9% Field goal % 43.8%
0.0% 3-point % 36.5%
81.3% Free throw % 86.0%
49.2% True shooting % 64.1%
1,270 Games played 1,221

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

John HavlicekStatJames Harden
1.89× Points vs era avg 2.39×
1.17× Rebounds vs era avg 1.35×
2.14× Assists vs era avg 3.21×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in John Havlicek's era.

John HavlicekStatJames Harden
— Offensive rating 115.0
— Defensive rating 109.4
— Net rating 5.5
— Usage % 28.6%
— Assist % 34.7%
— Rebound % 7.9%

Playoff averages

John HavlicekStatJames Harden
22.0 Points / game 22.5
6.9 Rebounds / game 5.5
4.8 Assists / game 6.5
0.3 Steals / game 1.6
0.1 Blocks / game 0.6
43.5% Field goal % 43.0%
0.0% 3-point % 34.7%
82.7% Free throw % 86.5%
172 Playoff games 173

Accolades

John HavlicekStatJames Harden
0 MVP awards 1
1 Finals MVP 0
8 Championships 0
13 All-Star selections 10
4 All-NBA 1st Team 6
#11 All-time GOAT rank #41

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