All-Star forward Kevin Durant is now the seventh-leading scorer in NBA history, matching the Houston Rockets’ No. 7 jersey number.
Durant hit a three-pointer early in the third quarter against Portland on Friday to move his career points to 31,421, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 points) and moving into seventh place on the league’s all-time scoring list.
advertise
Next up is Dirk Nowitzki in sixth place, who is just 141 points ahead of Chamberlain (31,560 points total). So, assuming Durant is healthy and everything is close to his current pace, he should move up to No. 6 by the end of January.
From there, it would take Durant longer to reach fifth place, a spot currently held by Michael Jordan (32,292 points).
However, at Durant’s current pace — he averaged 26.1 points per game on Friday (52.0% shooting from the field, 40.1% from 3-point range) with the Rockets still having 47 regular-season games to play — there’s a good chance he’ll surpass Jordan and secure a top-five spot before the end of the 2025-26 season.
Jordan, Nowitzki and Chamberlain are all members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and Durant will eventually join their ranks. But that won’t happen until after his NBA career is over, and the 37-year-old’s stellar performance with the Rockets suggests he’s at least a few years away from retirement before he needs to be seriously considered.
advertise
Of course, the most important thing for Durant is that his scoring often comes from winning circumstances. The two-time NBA Finals champion and MVP will be looking to add at least one more such trophy in Houston, where the Rockets move to 22-12 against the Trail Blazers on Friday (stats).
More: 31,000 points: Kevin Durant becomes eighth NBA player to reach milestone
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets star Kevin Durant climbs to seventh on NBA all-time scoring list
