Stephen Curry and James Harden are among the best guards in basketball, bar none. This doesn’t just apply for this season or throughout their respective careers. They’re two of the best to ever play the game, period. It’s a safe bet to say the two are already surefire hall-of-famers, and then some. It’s not surprising that the Curry vs Harden matchup is discussed this much.
The battle of two of basketball’s best scorers at the guard position is still debated ad nauseum. It’s a polarizing matchup: one revolutionized the game of basketball, and the other perfected it. More than any facet of the game, scoring baskets has been the bread and butter for these two superstars since they were both drafted in 2009.
Curry and Harden are both Great players and future Hall Of Famers but James Harden is the better All Around Player. Period!!!! https://t.co/KWI8FbDlTD
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 25, 2020
How close is the matchup between the two of them really? Here’s a look at what the numbers are telling us.
Curry vs Harden: Scoring
Stephen Curry is heralded as the greatest shooter of all time for a reason. He owns the three-point zone more than any player in the association, as evidenced by his 43% shooting clip from distance through twelve seasons in the league. He’s put up per-game averages of 23.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists for his career on 47/43/90 efficiency.
That he can’t carry a team without other All-Stars next to him is patently untrue, and Steph has been out to prove his doubters wrong this year.As the Warriors’ main man this season, those numbers have shot up to 29.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 6.2 apg on 47-41-92 shooting splits. Impressively, despite playing at the third-highest usage rate of his career as Golden State’s primary scorer, his effective field goal percentage this year (59.1%) is actually an entire percentage point than that of his entire career combined (58.1%).
What Steph lacks in athleticism, he makes up for with his efficiency, range, and craftiness, which opens up more opportunities for the Golden State offense whenever he’s on the floor. Besides being a flamethrower from distance, he’s also an underrated finisher with handles to rival those of Kyrie Irving. His feel for the game, more than anything else, is one trait that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet and that ultimately contributes to team success on the offensive end.
While James Harden is approaching the same stratosphere as Curry in this regard, he is still evidently not as prolific a shooter. On the other hand, his excellence comes by way of individual dominance. He has the one-on-one game down to a science. When he calls for isolation on a less-than-competent defender, you might as well tack on the points for his team.
