James Harden joins Chamberlain, Jordan with multiple 34-point seasons

“The Beard” joins Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players to have averaged 34+ points per game in multiple seasons.

With a final average of 34.3 points per game in the 2019-20 regular season, Houston Rockets star James Harden joins Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players to have ever averaged more than 34 points per game in two different seasons.

Harden also accomplished the feat a year ago in the 2018-19 season, when he led the NBA with a 36.1 points per game average. The left-hander has now won three consecutive NBA scoring titles.

This year, the All-Star guard and MVP finalist also averaged 7.6 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game, becoming just the third player ever to lead the NBA in total points and steals in the same season.

With the team having little to play for in its regular-season finale, Harden finished his historic campaign with 27 points (56.3% FG) and 10 assists in 26 minutes of limited action in Friday’s loss to Philadelphia.

Best of all, Harden’s historic numbers also contributed greatly to success for his team. Now 30 years old, “The Beard” led his Rockets (44-28) to a top-four seed in the Western Conference for a sixth time in seven years. With Harden as its star, Houston has now made the NBA playoffs in eight straight seasons, which is the league’s longest current streak.

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Harden has made the Western Conference All-Star team in all eight of his seasons with the Rockets, and he’s finished in the top three of the league’s MVP voting on five separate occasions during those eight years (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020). He won the award in 2018.

Harden and the Rockets are still searching for their first championship together, and their 2020 playoff run is set to begin Tuesday with a first-round series against Oklahoma City, his original NBA team. Game 1 between the Rockets and Thunder will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Central, with a national broadcast on TNT and a regional version (with Houston announcers) on AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

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