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Is James Harden more potent on offense than Kobe Bryant?

By Nicholas Gonzalez

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - DECEMBER 25: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets argues a foul call against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of a NBA game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on December 25, 2017 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - DECEMBER 25: James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets argues a foul call against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of a NBA game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on December 25, 2017 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by J Pat Carter/Getty Images) /
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Exploring whether James Harden was a better offensive player than Kobe Bryant

Although they are playing and played in two different eras, both James Harden and Kobe Bryant are absolute NBA superstars.

With that said, speaking in terms of offensive potency, who is better on that end of the floor?

When looking at numbers, it’s really unfair to both Kobe and Harden to compare career stats. Both players had slower starts than most superstars, and on Kobe’s end he had much longer career than Harden has had so far.

A very fair time period to pick to compare these two players was ages 23-28. What did we get? It’s actually quite interesting.

James Harden and Kobe Bryant were similar scorers, and carried similar efficiencies. Overall, though, per the numbers, it appears as if Harden’s impacted carries more weight.

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Screen Shot 2017-12-30 at 10.15.00 AM /

As you can see, some of the numbers are pretty close, but all in all Harden definitely has the upper hand. He wins every category except one, and the one he doesn’t win he loses by 1 point.

Harden is not only more of an effective scorer than Kobe, he is a better facilitator. Averaging more assists than Kobe, Harden consistently puts the ball in his teammates hands with opportunities to succeed. Kobe no doubt did some of the same, but not even close to same effectiveness as Harden.

Both via data and the eye test.

In terms of scoring too, you can very easily make the case Harden is a flat out better scorer. Harden can attack the rim very, very well. He may not be dunking on people but this isn’t a flash contest, it’s whether you finish or not. Shooting it’s not contest either, Harden is 100 percent more of a versatile shooter and effective shooter than Kobe. 

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Screen Shot 2017-12-30 at 10.29.02 AM /

Both of them can flat out score across the floor; Harden being more of an exceptional 3-point shooter than Kobe, and Kobe more so in the mid range. It should be noted that Harden has shot a much great volume of 3’s compared to Kobe – Harden has attempted 2,815 (and counting) 3’s during this span and Kobe only attempted 1,976  – so him being only plus-3 in percentage is actually much greater than on the surface. 

Kobe obviously excels much more in the 3-10 foot range because of his legendary post fade.

Lastly, in terms of efficiency, Harden takes the cake by a country mile. He’s a more efficient shooter, runs the offense better (higher ORTG), and in advanced numbers, has more offensive win shares. Harden in this span also has a lower usage rating and still average more assists per game, and only 1 less point per game than Kobe.

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When you first think of an argument like this, most people probably think Kobe is the sure fire better offensive player. That’s isn’t really the case though, as the data shows, Harden is much more potent on the offensive side than Kobe Bryant was, even in Kobe’s prime.

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