James Harden dominates Houston’s single season points per game record books.
The Houston Rockets have had some of the most talented scorers in league history play for their franchise. One of them dominates their franchise history scoring leaderboard. Let’s highlight their top five all-time single-season points-per-game leaders.
1. James Harden, 2018-19, 36.1 Points Per Game
Harden mostly came off the bench for the Thunder during his first three seasons in the league. He thrived in the role, winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award for the 2011-12 season. The subsequent offseason saw Harden get traded from the Thunder to the Rockets, where he immediately became a starter. He produced gaudy numbers with the Rockets, including leading the league by averaging 36.1 points per game during the 2018-19 season. That helped him finish second in MVP voting.
2. James Harden, 2019-20, 34.3 Points Per Game
Harden followed up his stellar 2018-19 campaign by averaging 34.3 points per game to lead the league again the following season. He continued to shine from behind the arc, averaging 4.4 3-pointers per game. Harden also averaged 11.8 free-throw attempts per game that season, which has been the highest mark of his career. His stellar scoring contributions helped him finish third in MVP voting behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James.
3. Moses Malone, 1981-82, 31.1 Points Per Game
Malone won three MVP awards during his career, two of which came when he was on the Rockets. One of those awards came during the 1981-82 season when he averaged 31.1 points per game. That ranked second in the league behind George Gervin (32.3). Malone did lead the league by averaging 14.7 rebounds per game. He accomplished that feat three times as a member of the Rockets. Across 464 regular season games with the Rockets, Malone averaged 24.0 points and 15.0 rebounds.
4. James Harden, 2017-18, 30.4 Points Per Game
We return to Harden for the fourth spot on this list. The 2017-18 season marked two career firsts for Harden. His average of 30.4 points per game resulted in him leading the league in scoring for the first time in his career. Harden then led the league in scoring each of the following two seasons. He also won his first MVP Award during the 2017-18 campaign. In addition to him averaging 30.4 points, he averaged 5.4 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
5. James Harden, 2016-17, 29.1 Points Per Game
Harden’s average of 29.1 points per game ranked second in the league behind his former Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook (31.6) that season. Harden also averaged 11.2 assists per game during the 2016-17 season, which was the highest mark in the league. Harden played a total of 621 career regular-season games with the Rockets, averaging 29.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.3 three-pointers. He shot 44.3% from the field, including 36.2% from behind the arc.
