PHOENIX — Kevin Durant grew to become the eighth participant in NBA historical past to attain 29,000 profession factors, reaching the mark Saturday evening as his Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-102.
Durant joins an elite checklist of gamers who’ve reached the 29,000-point plateau, headlined by LeBron James, the NBA’s profession scoring chief with 40,543 factors. Behind James is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and now Durant.
Durant, 36, is tenth on the mixed NBA and ABA checklist, with Julius Erving eighth and Moses Malone ninth.
“I’ve obtained to provide credit score to the individuals who have helped me since I used to be a child,” Durant mentioned. “Teammates who handed me the ball, set screens for me, coaches who drew up performs for me.”
The 14-time All-Star scored 31 factors Saturday in opposition to the Mavs and now has 29,010 factors over 17 seasons with Seattle, Oklahoma Metropolis, Golden State, Brooklyn and the Suns. The four-time league scoring champion has averaged 27.3 factors over 1,064 video games.
Durant has averaged not less than 20 factors in each season and continues to place the ball within the hoop at a excessive fee, scoring almost 29 factors per sport by means of his first three video games this season.
“What a tribute to an ideal, generational expertise,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer mentioned. “I really feel extremely fortunate to be round him daily.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
