Cross-era · careers 23 years apart

Julius Erving vs James Harden

Julius Erving 1976-1986 · Forward James Harden 2009-2025 · Guard · active

Julius Erving (1976-1986) and James Harden (2009-2025) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 23 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 22.0); adjusted for era they scored at 2.09× and 2.39× their league average respectively; James Harden was the more efficient scorer (64.1% true shooting to 55.8%). Julius Erving holds the edge on accolades — 1 MVP, 3 championships and the #21 all-time ranking to James Harden's #41.

Career averages

Julius ErvingStatJames Harden
22.0 Points / game 24.0
6.7 Rebounds / game 5.6
3.9 Assists / game 7.3
1.8 Steals / game 1.5
1.5 Blocks / game 0.6
50.6% Field goal % 43.8%
18.6% 3-point % 36.5%
77.9% Free throw % 86.0%
55.8% True shooting % 64.1%
836 Games played 1,221

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Julius ErvingStatJames Harden
2.09× Points vs era avg 2.39×
1.53× Rebounds vs era avg 1.35×
1.55× Assists vs era avg 3.21×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Julius Erving's era.

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

Playoff averages

Julius ErvingStatJames Harden
21.9 Points / game 22.5
7.0 Rebounds / game 5.5
4.2 Assists / game 6.5
1.7 Steals / game 1.6
1.7 Blocks / game 0.6
48.4% Field goal % 43.0%
8.0% 3-point % 34.7%
78.1% Free throw % 86.5%
141 Playoff games 173

Accolades

Julius ErvingStatJames Harden
1 MVP awards 1
0 Finals MVP 0
3 Championships 0
11 All-Star selections 10
9 All-NBA 1st Team 6
#21 All-time GOAT rank #41

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