Phoenix Suns small forward Kevin Durant passed Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on October 26 versus the Los Angeles Lakers. Durant is now 12th in NBA history in points.
Olajuwon scored 26,946 points during his Hall of Fame career. He made 12 All-Star teams, 12 All-NBA teams and nine All-Defensive teams and won two championships, two Finals MVPs, one regular-season MVP and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards with the Rockets.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns, Hakeem Olajuwon Updates
Olajuwon finished his career with averages of 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.1 blocks. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Durant now has 26,949 career points. That number will continue to grow as the season moves along. The 13-time All-Star is fourth in NBA history in points per game. Durant has career averages of 27.3 points with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets and Suns.
The Suns lost to the Lakers by five points despite Durant scoring 39 points in 39 minutes. KD shot 14-of-28 from the field, 1-of-5 from beyond the arc and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. Devin Booker and Bradley Beal were out, so Durant got trapped by the Lakers a lot. The two-time Finals MVP had eight turnovers.
Lakers superstar LeBron James, who scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, called Durant “one of the best to ever play this game” during his postgame media session.
“We’ve had so many battles, (and) we don’t have many matchups left,” the 38-year-old LeBron said. “Not sure how many we have left, so you don’t ever want to take it for granted when you’re out there with such a great player, one of the best to ever play this game. It’s always a treat. It’s fun.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns, Hakeem Olajuwon Updates
LeBron became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer last season. As great as Durant is, he likely won’t catch The King.
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