James Harden

Cleveland Cavaliers · G

Age 37 · 6'5" · 220 lb · USA

Pick #3, 2009 Draft · Rookie 2010 · 1,228 games · 191 playoff games

DPM · #38 of 523

+2.2

Offense +2.8 Defense -0.6 Market +2.5 · playoffs +1.7 Last played Nov 2, 2026

Compare this player Explore in an assistant Open CLE in the Roster Lab

Historical comps

Comps & futures

The ten most similar player-seasons since 1996-97 at the same age, and what happened to them next.

Comp	Age	DPM then	Next 5 seasons	Match
Vince Carter 2013-14	37	+1.6	-1.1, -1.8, -0.6, -1.9, -2.5	75
Manu Ginobili 2014-15	37	+2.7	+2.4, +1.1, 0.0, under 10 games, under 10 games	75
Jeff Hornacek 1999-00	37	+1.2	under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games	74
Terry Porter 1999-00	37	+2.0	+1.6, +1.6, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games	74
Dirk Nowitzki 2014-15	36	+2.6	+2.7, +0.7, 0.0, -1.2, under 10 games	73
Paul Pierce 2013-14	36	+1.2	+0.8, -1.7, -2.4, under 10 games, under 10 games	72
Chris Mullin 1999-00	36	+1.6	+0.3, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games	72
Sam Cassell 2005-06	36	+0.5	-0.3, -2.4, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games	70
Charles Barkley 1999-00	37	+1.3	under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games	68
Reggie Miller 2002-03	37	+1.0	+1.1, +1.0, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games	68

The 25 player-seasons since 1996-97 closest to James's 2026-27 at the same age: DPM and its offense/defense split, the two seasons before, box-score profile, height, experience and age. Each comp counts once, at his closest season, weighted by the match. Hover or focus a comp to trace his next five seasons. A website presentation, not a DARKO model output.

Around the league

Top 10 comps today

Current players closest to James Harden's current profile, by DARKO ratings, age and projected box-score style.

1 James Harden CLE Self

+2.2DPMDPM Offense +2.8 Defense -0.6 Per 100 possessions:26.8points6.8rebounds9.2assistsP/R/A
100.0
2 Kyrie Irving DAL ↗

+2.5DPMDPM Offense +2.8 Defense -0.3 Per 100 possessions:33.5points6.1rebounds7.6assistsP/R/A
83.7
3 Jrue Holiday POR ↗

+1.5DPMDPM Offense +1.5 Defense -0.1 Per 100 possessions:22.3points7.2rebounds8.8assistsP/R/A
81.7
4 LeBron James PHI ↗

+2.0DPMDPM Offense +1.8 Defense +0.2 Per 100 possessions:26.3points9.8rebounds11.0assistsP/R/A
78.0
5 Jimmy Butler GSW ↗

+1.8DPMDPM Offense +1.2 Defense +0.5 Per 100 possessions:27.2points8.6rebounds7.8assistsP/R/A
76.6
6 Stephen Curry GSW ↗

+2.8DPMDPM Offense +4.3 Defense -1.5 Per 100 possessions:39.6points6.0rebounds7.8assistsP/R/A
74.6
7 Jaylen Brown PHI ↗

+2.4DPMDPM Offense +3.0 Defense -0.6 Per 100 possessions:31.9points8.9rebounds6.3assistsP/R/A
73.6
8 Paul George BOS ↗

+1.7DPMDPM Offense +0.8 Defense +0.9 Per 100 possessions:27.8points8.0rebounds7.1assistsP/R/A
73.6
9 Pascal Siakam IND ↗

+1.2DPMDPM Offense +1.7 Defense -0.5 Per 100 possessions:32.1points9.5rebounds5.8assistsP/R/A
73.2
10 Kevin Durant HOU ↗

+3.7DPMDPM Offense +3.5 Defense +0.1 Per 100 possessions:32.8points7.2rebounds5.9assistsP/R/A
72.8

How these matches work

Each player's latest published profile is compared with today's league. The score uses standardized differences in DPM, offense, defense, age, scoring, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, turnovers, three-point shot share and free-throw rate. DPM and age carry the most weight. Historical trajectory and a same-age cutoff are not used here.

100 is an identical profile, so a current player is his own first match. Scores fall by 8 points per unit of weighted distance, down to zero. This is a similarity index, not a probability. Box-score figures are projections per 100 possessions, so playing time does not distort the comparison.

Value

Contract & longevity

DARKO's fair salary from projected wins against James Harden's salary, and the odds of still being on an NBA roster in each coming season.

Fair value: $44.7M; DARKO's market estimate
Salary: $30.6M; Actual
Surplus: +$14.0M; Value minus salary
WARP: 9.1; Wins above replacement
Seasons left: 3.2; Projected, within 15
Retires at: 40.9; Projected age

Career

Season by season

DPM going into each season's last game, since 1996-97.

James Harden, season by season
Season	Team	Age	Games	MPG	DPM	Off	Def	For his age
2026-27 so far	CLE	37	7	33.5	+2.22	+2.81	-0.59	—
2025-26	CLE	36	70 +18	34.8	+3.16	+3.69	-0.53	14th of 189
2024-25	LAC	35	79 +7	35.3	+4.54	+3.92	+0.62	11th of 243
2023-24	LAC	34	72 +6	34.3	+3.30	+3.32	-0.02	26th of 337
2022-23	PHI	33	58 +11	36.8	+3.90	+4.09	-0.18	16th of 405
2021-22	PHI	32	65 +12	37.2	+3.76	+3.87	-0.12	28th of 530
2020-21	BKN	31	44 +9	36.6	+5.45	+5.37	+0.08	11th of 616
2019-20	HOU	31	68 +12	36.5	+5.67	+6.05	-0.38	9th of 616
2018-19	HOU	29	78 +11	36.8	+5.61	+6.13	-0.52	14th of 774
2017-18	HOU	28	72 +17	35.4	+5.81	+6.73	-0.91	15th of 858
2016-17	HOU	27	81 +11	36.4	+5.51	+6.52	-1.00	16th of 924
2015-16	HOU	26	82 +5	38.1	+5.35	+6.22	-0.87	13th of 1010
2014-15	HOU	25	81 +17	36.8	+6.05	+6.44	-0.40	8th of 1077
2013-14	HOU	24	73 +6	38.0	+4.92	+5.99	-1.07	12th of 1185
2012-13	HOU	23	78 +6	38.3	+4.91	+5.97	-1.06	5th of 1100
2011-12	OKC	22	62 +20	31.4	+2.93	+3.52	-0.59	17th of 813
2010-11	OKC	21	82 +17	26.7	+2.78	+2.01	+0.77	8th of 571
2009-10	OKC	20	76 +6	22.9	+1.85	+0.75	+1.10	6th of 354

Games are regular season; +n are playoff games. "For his age" ranks the season's DPM among every season at the same age since 1996-97 with 20 or more games. A season's DPM opens the leaderboard on its last game day.

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Projections

Projected box score

DARKO's rest-of-season projections per 100 possessions, and per game at 33.6 projected minutes when he plays and a pace of 98.9.

James Harden, projected box score
Stat	Per 100	Per game
Points	26.8	18.6
Rebounds	6.8	4.7
Offensive	0.9	0.6
Defensive	5.9	4.1
Assists	9.2	6.4
Steals	1.7	1.2
Blocks	0.7	0.5
Turnovers	4.7	3.2
3-pt attempts	10.7	7.4
FG attempts	19.5	13.5
FT attempts	8.2	5.7
FG% · 3P% · FT%	42.4% · 36.2% · 86.0%