Kevin Durant added a new milestone to his amazing career. One of the best scorers in the game reached the 30,000 career regular season points in the Phoenix Suns loss’ to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. With that feat, Durant became just the eighth player in league history to achieve 30,000 career points. What does it mean for KD, and how about the greater picture?
Kevin Durant Can Help LeBron in Goat Debate
Despite Durant scoring 34 points, the Suns lost to the Grizzlies on Tuesday night. Durant is now at 30,008 career points in the regular season.
As of right now, Durant is eighth in league history in scoring. If he continues to play at a high level for the next few seasons, he can climb even higher on the board. There is even a chance LeBron James might receive some help from Durant in the GOAT debate with Michael Jordan.
LeBron will continue to be the career scoring leader in the NBA for many years to come. But if Durant can continue his strong play, he should eventually be in the top five all-time scorers.
The GOAT conversation might feel a bit different when MJ is not in the top-five in career scoring. Dirk Nowitzki came close to putting Jordan out of the top 5, but he was less than a thousand points short. Can KD get there? Let’s take a look.
Kevin Durant on Pace to Reach Top 5 Career Points
The difference between Jordan who is fifth all-time and Durant is a little over 2,000 points. But here is the thing. Last year, KD appeared in 75 games, and scored a total of 2,032 points. This year, he is at 1,084 so far. If he remains healthy for this and next season, he will surely pass Jordan for fifth.
He is under contract for next year, and the way he is playing, he should earn another contract. Following the game against the Grizzlies, Durant said,
“A true honor to be in the same category as those players who helped shaped the game and push the game forward. That’s always been my goal, to get the most out of myself every day, and the most out of my career.”
Memphis guard Ja Morant even gave Durant the game ball as a sign of respect. Not many players score 30,000 points.
Out of current active players, only James Harden might have a shot to crack that plateau anytime soon. He is a little over three thousand points away.
Will it Matter?
The GOAT conversation has become barber shop talk for many years. To be fair, you cannot go wrong with either LeBron or Jordan. They are 1A and 1B, and people should treat them like such.
Yes, there will always be those who want to debate for hours who is the greater of the two. Fun fact: LeBron is close to hitting 50K total points (playoffs and regular season). MJ is not even over 40K.
That being said, years from now, some kids might debate how can Jordan be better when he is not even in the top-five scorers of all-time. Well, that is a debate for another day.
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