The future Hall of Famer has a chance to ascend into the top 10 by the end of the season.
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 39 points in a 100-95 loss to the Lakers on Thursday night.
In the process, the future Hall of Famer passed Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th on the all-time scoring list.
Late in the fourth quarter, Durant drove hard to the basket while colliding with Austin Reaves. Durant managed to make the tough bucket to surpass Olajuwon.
12TH ALL-TIME.
Congrats, KD, on moving into 12th all-time on the @NBA Scoring Leaderboard! 👏 pic.twitter.com/r50iDYLklN
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 27, 2023
Last season, Durant amassed 1,366 points in 47 games, which was more or less on pace with his previous season (1,643 points in 55 games in ’21-22).
If Durant scores about 1,600 points this season, he’d have enough to pass Carmelo Anthony (28,289) for No. 9 on the scoring list. A healthy season with 2,000 or more points would give him more than enough to pass Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) for the No. 8 spot.
Lastly, Durant needs 3,108 more points to become the eighth member of the 30,000-point club.
Durant and the Suns next host the Utah Jazz on Saturday (10 ET, NBA TV).
