The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing the Detroit Pistons in Game 6 in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, a series that star James Harden has played a big part in so far.
Harden, who doesn’t have the best playoff history throughout his career, has put together a few strong performances for the Cavaliers to give them a 3-2 series lead over the Pistons, and most recently, etched himself further in NBA history.
During the Cavaliers-Pistons Game 6, Harden moved up to tenth on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list.
NBA Announces James Harden News During Cavaliers Game 6
With his early game scoring burst for the Cavaliers, Harden has now scored the tenth most playoff points in NBA history, as the league announced.
“Congrats to @JHarden13 of the @cavs for moving up to 10th on the all-time playoff SCORING list!” the NBA wrote in a post on X.
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Harden is now only behind some of the greatest players in NBA history in terms of playoff scoring. He only trails LeBron James and Kevin Durant in terms of active players, just passing Stephen Curry.
Despite his longevity and massive playoff resume, Harden doesn’t necessarily have the success compared to the others on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list, as he has just one Finals appearance in his 17 seasons in the league.
However, known as a scorer, Harden further cemented his legacy with a hot start for Cleveland in Game 6. He now has 4,148 playoff points and counting, as he attempts to lead the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals.
With this shot he is now 10th all-time in playoff scoring 🙌
He finished the first quarter with seven points on 3/4 shooting, including a three-pointer over Jalen Duren, which put him tenth on the playoff scoring list.
Harden Remains The Key For The Cavaliers Playoff Success
Harden has a shaky playoff history, but in the recent Cavs games, he’s put together some strong performances to get them out of a 2-0 hole against the Pistons.
In the team’s Game 4 win, Harden had 24 points and 11 assists. He then capped that off with a team-high 30 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, including a few clutch shots to lead the Cavaliers to an overtime win in Game 5.
After the win, Harden said he took it upon himself to take the lead for Cleveland.
“I just read how they were guarding us. I’m always looking for opportunities to be aggressive, and since Don struggled a bit tonight, the rest of us needed to step up,” he said. “Between Max hitting big shots and Dennis playing well, it was a complete team effort. I found an opening and decided to stay aggressive within our offense.”
Most recently, the Cavaliers announced that Harden was the first since James in 2016 to have at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a playoff game.
Despite how well he’s played in the past few Cavaliers games, he might have to put together a few more strong performances to fully cement himself as a top-tier playoff performer. Regardless, Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson had high praise for the veteran who they brought in at the trade deadline.
“With him, you’d never know if you’re up 20, down 20. Just calm all the time,” Atkinson said of Harden, per The Athletic. “He adds a maturity and a poise, a calmness to our group, which we needed.”
Harden is now 10th in the all-time NBA playoff scoring list, and if he can help keep the Cavaliers’ playoff hopes alive, he could climb even higher on that elite list this season.
NBA Announces Historic James Harden News During Cavaliers-Pistons Game 6