Harden vs. Westbrook: Who Has Been Better In Head-To-Head Matchups?

James Harden and Russell Westbrook face off in the first round of the playoffs. Based on their previous matchups, let's see who has the upper hand.

James Harden and Russell Westbrook embrace after a game.
USA Today Sports

Image via USA TODAY Sports/Troy Taormina

James Harden and Russell Westbrook embrace after a game.

Do you remember the first time James Harden and Russell Westbrook took the court for a game against one another? Probably not, because it took place during one of the more forgettable Pac-10 matchups of the 2007-08 college basketball season. Westbrook’s UCLA team blew out Harden’s Arizona State squad 84-51 on January 31, 2008, and both players put up pretty pedestrian numbers during the game with Westbrook going for 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists and Harden tallying 9 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist. They didn’t give any real indication during that game that they would one day be competing for an NBA MVP award less than 10 years later.

Russell Westbrook directs UCLA teammates.

The same could also be said for their second-ever matchup on the court. Less than a month after the first UCLA/Arizona State game, the two teams played on February 28, 2008, and once again, Westbrook’s UCLA team destroyed Harden’s Arizona State squad 79-40. Westbrook went for 13 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in that game, while Harden put up 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Their numbers were slightly better than their first game against one another, but not by much.

James Harden reacts to a call at Arizona State.

Fortunately, Harden and Westbrook have picked it up since then when playing against one another. The two former Los Angeles area high school stars—who played in the same region but never met in a high school game—spent three seasons at the starts of their respective careers suiting up for the same team, the Thunder. But since Harden was shipped off to Houston to play for the Rockets prior to the start of the 2012-13 NBA season, Harden and Westbrook have met on the court 16 times. And while their head-to-head record would suggest that they’ve been equals on the court when playing against one another—the Rockets and Thunder are 8-8 in regular-season and postseason games played since 2012—we couldn’t help but wonder if one has outdone the other over the years during head-to-head battles.

Harden and Westbrook are going to take their on-court rivalry to the next level over the next few weeks as the Rockets and Thunder do battle in the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. They’re also going to find themselves fighting over the NBA MVP trophy at the end of June during the first-ever NBA Awards. But for now, we decided dig around in their head-to-head stats (h/t Basketball Reference) to see which player has been superior up until this point when going against one another. Let’s break it down.

Game 1: November 28, 2012

Harden and Westbrook 1.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 120-98
Harden’s Stats: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Harden may have scored more points, but he shot just 19 percent from the field during this game. Westbrook also filled up the stat sheet more effectively.

Game 2: December 29, 2012

Harden and Westbrook 2.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 124-94
Harden’s Stats: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 28 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Westbrook’s stats were better all around, and Harden once again struggled from the field. He shot just 6-for-17, including 2-for-7 from three.

Game 3: February 20, 2013

Harden and Westbrook 3.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 122-119
Harden’s Stats: 46 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 28 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steals
Who Was Better?Harden. Harden rebounded after two poor outings against the Thunder to hit 74 percent of his shots, including 88 percent from three.

Game 4: April 21, 2013

Harden and Westbrook 4.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 120-91
Harden’s Stats: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 19 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Harden only hit 6 of the 19 field goals he took and shot just 17 percent from three. Westbrook was more efficient across the board.

Game 5: April 24, 2013

Harden and Westbrook 5.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 105-102
Harden’s Stats: 36 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 29 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
Who Was Better?Harden. But to be fair, Westbrook suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during this game and still put up impressive stats.

Game 6: March 11, 2014

Harden and Westbrook 6.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 106-98
Harden’s Stats: 28 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals
Who Was Better?Harden. Even though Westbrook’s team won the game, Harden had better stats and also shot the ball better than Westbrook at the free-throw line and behind the three-point line.

Game 7: January 15, 2015

Harden and Westbrook 7.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 112-101
Harden’s Stats: 31 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals
Who Was Better?Harden. Harden shot 60 percent from the field for the game, including 75 percent from three, and nearly doubled Westbrook’s point total.

Game 8: April 5, 2015

Harden and Westbrook 8.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 115-112
Harden’s Stats: 41 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 40 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, 0 steals
Who Was Better?Harden. It’s hard to give Harden the nod over Westbrook here, especially when you consider Westbrook notched a triple-double. But he shot 55 percent from the field, 67 percent from three, and led his team to a win in one of the few close games in this series.

Game 9: November 2, 2015

Harden and Westbrook 9.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 110-105
Harden’s Stats: 37 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals
Who Was Better?Harden. Westbrook shot over 60 percent from the field, but he only got to the free-throw line twice and committed 7 turnovers in a loss.

Game 10: January 29, 2016

Harden and Westbrook 10.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 116-108
Harden’s Stats: 33 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 26 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists, 1 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Harden had another rough shooting night against the Thunder (36 percent from the field, 29 percent from three), while Westbrook did a little bit of everything for Oklahoma City.

Game 11: March 22, 2016

Harden and Westbrook 11.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 111-107
Harden’s Stats: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 16 assists, 4 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 21 points, 12 rebounds, 15 assists, 1 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Harden had a hell of a game, too, but Westbrook’s team won as he notched his sixth triple-double that month.

Game 12: April 3, 2016

Harden and Westbrook 12.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 118-110
Harden’s Stats: 41 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 23 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals
Who Was Better?Harden. Westbrook came just shy of recording a triple-double, but he also recorded 8 turnovers and was easily outscored by Harden, who shot 48 percent from the field and hit 5-of-11 threes.

Game 13: November 16, 2016

Harden and Westbrook 13.

Outcome: Thunder beat Rockets 105-103
Harden’s Stats: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 30 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Harden struggled from the field, while Westbrook did it all for the Thunder. He even threw down a dunk over Clint Capela with five seconds left to seal the game.

Game 14: December 9, 2016

Harden and Westbrook 14.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 102-99
Harden’s Stats: 21 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Although the Rockets won the game, Harden shot just 26 percent from the field and only made 2 of the 11 three-pointers he took.

Game 15: January 5, 2017

Harden and Westbrook 15.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 118-116
Harden’s Stats: 26 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 49 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. Westbrook almost helped the Thunder overcome an 18-point deficit and outdid Harden in almost every statistical category except rebounds. He took more than 30 shots for the Thunder and made 47 percent of them and also went 8-for-15 from three.

Game 16: March 26, 2017

Harden and Westbrook 16.

Outcome: Rockets beat Thunder 137-125
Harden’s Stats: 22 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 0 steals
Westbrook’s Stats: 39 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, 0 steals
Who Was Better?Westbrook. The Rockets shot 63 percent from the field as a team, so Harden didn’t really have to do much during this easy win. But that doesn’t make Westbrook’s triple-double any less impressive.

So Who Has Been Better Overall?

Russell Westbrook reacts to breaking the NBA's triple-double record.

By our count, Westbrook has been better than Harden during 9 of his 16 NBA games against him. So at this point in their careers, we’d give the nod to Westbrook. But as you’ve seen this season, Harden’s teams have won more often lately despite him not necessarily having better games than Westbrook. And that’s pretty much been the argument with regards to the Westbrook vs. Harden debate all season long. Would you rather have the guy with the better stats—or the guy who leads his team to more victories? Either way, we’re in for a treat when Harden and Westbrook match up in the playoffs to continue to settle the score.

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