Durant Becomes 8th Player to Hit 30,000 Points: How High Can He Climb?
Against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, Kevin Durant, a forward with the Phoenix Suns, became just the eighth NBA player to reach 30,000 points in his career. Durant ended with 34 points, increasing his career total to 30,008. He needed 26 points to reach the milestone going into the game. Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and Dirk Nowitzki (31,560), who are ranked seventh and sixth on the all-time scoring record, respectively, are two more superstars he is now within reach of thanks to his scoring explosion.
If Durant hadn't missed the entire 2019–20 season because of an Achilles injury, or been restricted to 35 games in 2020–21 and 47 games in 2022–23, his current ranking might be even higher. In spite of that missed time, the 6-foot-11 forward scored 30,000 points in just 1,101 NBA games, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the third-fastest player to do so.
Durant is still a powerful force at 34. With a flawless mid-range game, a 3-point touch, and an exceptional jump shot, he has a lifetime shooting average of 50.1% from the field, 38.7% from a distance, and 88.2% from the free-throw line. With a career average of 27.2 points and four scoring titles, he is only surpassed by Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Michael Jordan in terms of points per game (among players with at least 800 games). Durant has the potential to surpass Kobe Bryant (33,643) and even Michael Jordan (32,292) on the NBA scoring chart if he maintains his current level of output and is healthy.
