Kevin Durant hit a corner 3-pointer with less than five minutes left Saturday night in Houston, lifted his arms, and let 19 years of relentless work sink in. The basket gave him 32,294 career points and moved him past Michael Jordan into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He did not need long to tell reporters where his eyes were already fixed.
Kevin Durant Surpasses Michael Jordan in NBA History Books
“Four more to go,” Durant said with a smile.
The Houston Rockets held on to beat the Miami Heat 123-122 in the kind of finish that fit the night. Durant finished with 27 points, missed a potential game-winner in the final seconds, and watched teammate Amen Thompson tip in the loose ball at the buzzer to save the victory.
Durant entered Saturday just 2 points behind Jordan, who retired at 32,292. He took just five shots in the first half, looked disengaged, then erupted for 16 second-half points, 12 of them from three. The basket that eclipsed Jordan was the second from nearly the same right-corner spot in rapid succession, and the Toyota Center crowd was already on its feet.
The four players now ahead of Durant are Kobe Bryant at 33,643, Karl Malone at 36,928, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 38,387, and LeBron James at 43,229. Durant had already passed Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and Dirk Nowitzki (31,560) earlier this season. That’s three historic names in one year.
Rockets coach Ime Udoka understood the weight of the moment, even as his star tried to minimize it.
“It’s an honor for everybody to be a part of that,” Udoka said. “And as KD has said in the past, I don’t think he cares much about it in the moment. He’s really focused on the season and what we’re trying to accomplish, but I don’t want to just make it an afterthought. Passing Michael Jordan is obviously a huge accomplishment, and we celebrated that with him.”
Durant, 37, was asked what Jordan meant to him. The answer was reverent.
“MJ is in a world of his own. He’s in a planet, a galaxy of his own, and somebody that I look up to and respect, who basically shaped the game for me,” Durant said.
He then did what he always does: shifted focus. “I don’t ever want to downplay stuff like that, but I gotta come to work tomorrow,” Durant said. “Road trip coming up and playoffs right around the corner, so I want to focus on that.”
Thompson, who was just 4 years old when Durant was a rookie, could not pretend to be casual about sharing a locker room with this.
“That’s legendary,” Thompson said. “Just being on a team with greatness like that, it’s inspiring, for sure. And witnessing him break these records, it’s been cool to watch.”
Durant is a 16-time All-Star, a two-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP, and a four-time scoring champion who has shot 50.3% for his career. He missed the entire 2019-20 season recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Without that lost year, he would have climbed this list sooner.
Now, he sits fifth, and he’s determined to pass Bryant next.
