Houston Rockets superstar forward Kevin Durant continued climbing the NBA record books during Friday’s road clash against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Durant overtook a four-time MVP on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, a feat he humbly anticipated ahead of the contest.
Kevin Durant Passes Wilt Chamberlain for 7th-Most Points in NBA History
Durant entered Friday needing 15 points to surpass the late great Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 points) for seventh in career scoring. He nearly achieved the milestone in the first half, entering halftime with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting (71.4%), leaving him tied with Chamberlain.
The 15-time All-Star got over the hump in short order after the break. Durant drilled a contested 3-pointer over Trail Blazers wing Toumani Camara with the shot clock winding down to put Houston ahead 67-65 with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter.
The tough shot moved him three points in front of Chamberlain, who was renowned for his eye-popping stat totals.
Kevin Durant passes NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain for 7th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list pic.twitter.com/oiMb3LWtzh
— StatHunter (@stat_hunter) January 10, 2026
Before the contest, Durant touched on the significance of being in the same company as a player of Chamberlain’s caliber.
“To be in that same category, to be [able] to just have my name around these guys, is pretty cool. People that I grew up wanting to be like and wanting to emulate, and they set the standard for me,” Durant said.
“So, it’s cool being underneath Wilt, and to be able to potentially pass him up and continue to move up the charts is a pretty cool thing.”
Kevin Durant speaks on Wilt Chamberlain’s influence on his game pic.twitter.com/JpGtBtSyuD
— StatHunter (@stat_hunter) January 10, 2026
The two-time NBA champion continued to reminisce about Chamberlain’s impact on the game, citing his historic 50.4 points per game scoring average from the 1961-62 season.
“Me coming up learning the game, obviously, Wilt was retired. Most of the stuff you hear about him is the numbers, is the stats. It’s just the legend of Wilt that you hear about for so long since I was a kid without seeing him play,” Durant shared.
“To see the numbers, you can’t even comprehend somebody putting up 50 [points] a game and 25 rebounds and scoring points so easily. Rebounding, blocking shots, he was doing everything. You want to compete with that and try to match that as much as you can. So, it’s amazing just being in the top 10 with him, but to have the opportunity to pass him up is pretty sweet.”
Kevin Durant reflects on Wilt Chamberlain’s greatness pic.twitter.com/sSVatxfKHt
— StatHunter (@stat_hunter) January 10, 2026
Drafted back in 2007, Durant has sustained his prolific scoring output in his age-37 season, entering Friday averaging 26.1 ppg on elite 52.0/40.1/89.2 shooting splits as a primary option.
Next up on the all-time scoring list in sixth place is Dallas Mavericks icon Dirk Nowitzki (31,560 points), one of Durant’s former Western Conference rivals.