Suns Kevin Durant moves to No. 10 on NBAs all-time scoring list, surpassing Moses Malone
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Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant made history Friday, moving into the top 10 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He surpassed 12-time All-Star Moses Malone to become No. 10 in career points.
Durant needed 17 points versus the Denver Nuggets to surpass Malone’s mark of 27,409. With 50.1 seconds remaining in the first half, Durant converted a driving layup to secure that accomplishment. The Suns lost 119-111 to the Nuggets as Durant scored 30 points, despite going 0-for-10 from the field in the fourth quarter.
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Entering the 2023-24 season, Durant was 13th on the career points list with 26,892. Before the 2022-23 campaign began, Durant sat at No. 21. Since then, he’s passed Alex English, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes and Malone to get to No. 10.
27,409+ career points.
Kevin Durant has passed Moses Malone for 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. pic.twitter.com/MIZfRbZR7N
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 2, 2023
For his career, Durant averages 27.3 points per game on 49.9 percent shooting from the floor and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc. Entering Friday, Durant is averaging 31.3 points per game 51.8 percent shooting from the floor and 49.3 percent from 3. Assuming he continues shooting at a 30-points-per-game clip, Durant will surpass Carmelo Anthony for ninth all-time (28,289) in approximately 30 games and Shaquille O’Neal for eighth (28,596) in about 40 games.
Durant is second among active players in career points. The first is LeBron James, who on Feb. 7 became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Durant is playing in his 16th NBA season. He is a 13-time All-Star, four-time scoring champ, two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP and won the league MVP in 2013-14.
Durant remains immune to age
Durant turned 35 in September. You’d never be able to tell. While the Suns forward has gotten older, his game pretty much has remained the same. Entering Friday night’s contest against Denver, Durant had scored 501 points, the most he’d scored through the first 16 games of a season in his career. While Phoenix has battled health issues — its “Big 3” of Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal have yet to play a game together — Durant has played at an MVP level.
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Entering Friday, he had scored 25-plus points in a franchise-record 15 straight games. He had made 54 consecutive free throws, six shy of Booker’s franchise record. Age gets everyone in this league at some point. So far, Durant seems immune. — Doug Haller, Suns beat writer
Durant adds to amazing resume
Durant has reached legend territory. First and last names are not needed for the top 10 scorers in NBA history. LeBron. Kareem. The Mailman. Kobe. MJ. Dirk. Wilt. Shaq. Melo. And now KD. How high on this list can Durant go? Much depends on his health. Durant has not played more than 55 games since the 2018-19 season. Reaching Shaq, in eighth place at 28,596 points, feels like a certainty. Catching Wilt (31,419 in seventh) and Dirk (31,560 in sixth) would require at least a couple more high-level seasons. Don’t put it past him. — Haller
Required reading
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
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