NBA

Kevin Durant joins these seven legendary players in exclusive NBA club

Durant bagged 34 points in the Phoenix Suns’ defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies, taking him past a significant NBA milestone.

CHRISTIAN PETERSEN | AFP

Roddy Cons

Scottish sports journalist and content creator. After running his own soccer-related projects, in 2022 he joined Diario AS, where he mainly reports on the biggest news from around Europe’s leading soccer clubs, Liga MX and MLS, and covers live games in a not-too-serious tone. Likes to mix things up by dipping into the world of American sports.

Update: Feb 12th, 2025 02:54 EST

Kevin Durant was heavily linked with a move away from the Phoenix Suns before the 2025 NBA trade deadline, but ended up staying put and surpassed a huge milestone with the franchise just days later.

Although the Suns were defeated by the Memphis Grizzlies at Footprint Center on Tuesday, Durant bagged a game-leading 34 points, which took him past the 30,000 points mark, just the eighth player in the history of the league to do so.

30K POINTS FOR 35 😤

Kevin Durant becomes the 8th player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points! pic.twitter.com/YsERU87rkx
— NBA (@NBA) February 12, 2025

The 36-year-old has now registered 30,008 points for the Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, the Golden State Warriors, the Brooklyn Nets and the Suns since making his NBA debut in the 2007/08 season.

Which eight players have more than 30,000 points in the NBA?

Durant joins an exclusive club headed by LeBron James, who has recorded 41,623 points, and is still going strong with the Los Angeles Lakers. Also ahead of the Suns forward on the all-time list are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain. Not a bad club to be a part of…

NBA all-time points leaders

LeBron James - 41,623
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - 38,387
Karl Malone - 36,928
Kobe Bryant - 33,643
Michael Jordan - 32,292
Dirk Nowitzki - 31,560
Wilt Chamberlain - 31,419
Kevin Durant - 30,008

Active players in bold.

Of the players mentioned, Durant has the third best points-per-game average (27.3), behind only Jordan and Chamberlain (30.1).

The DC native’s point-scoring prowess has made him a 15-time NBA All-Star, while he was named NBA Finals MVP in both 2017 and 2018, when he won his two championships to date with the Warriors.

Who will join the 30,000-point club next?

Looking down the list of all-time point leaders, the next active player are veterans, as you’d expect. James Harden is 14th on 26,931 points, followed by Russell Westbrook (21st, 25,834) and Steph Curry (27th, 24,694). All three are 36 years old, so may well run out of time.

That could also be true for 35-year-old DeMar DeRozan 28th, 24,633) and 34-year-old Damian Lillard (37th, 22, 284).

Perhaps the best positioned to be next in the club, therefore, is Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks star is currently in 52nd position with 19,804 points but, at the age of 30, still appears to have some time on his side.

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