Phoenix Suns guard Kevin Durant has surpassed Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list of the National Basketball Association (NBA) after scoring 22 points in their 115-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
The 35-year-old entered the Footprint Center needing just nine points to overtake the four-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP, who finished his 19-year playing career in the league with 28,596 points.
Back at home, back in the win column! pic.twitter.com/2x2S7IRQEy
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 21, 2024
He scored eight points in the first half to tie O’Neal. He then hit his signature midrange jumper with 10:22 left in the third quarter to climb over O’Neal, who also played for the Suns in the 2008–09 season.
Durant, a 14-time All-Star, currently has 28,610 career points in 1,048 games, and continues to move up the NBA all-time scoring ladder, having surpassed a few legends of the league, including Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, and future first-ballot Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony.
Kevin Durant has officially passed Shaquille O’Neal for 8th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list ???? pic.twitter.com/1fPfGVVDrF
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 21, 2024
“Just grateful to be in the category with some of the greatest,” Durant said. “We all know what Shaq meant to the game of basketball. So to be up there with him is a major, major honor in my opinion.
“With the all-time greats in sports history, you know, so, and I know the game is much more than scoring, you know, about winning championships and doing other things. But it’s cool to be up there with those names.
The two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP also finished the game against the Sixers with eight points, four assists, and three blocks, as well as shooting 10-of-18 from the field.
O’Neal, who was working for TNT on Wednesday, congratulated Durant on his accomplishment, with the video played out on the Suns’ video board at Footprint Center.
“Well deserved. It doesn’t stop here… If anybody was gonna pass me, it was definitely gonna be you.”
????️ @SHAQ congratulates Kevin Durant on passing him on the @NBA all-time scoring list pic.twitter.com/PBHr84Jy0X
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 21, 2024
Durant, in his 17th season in the league, is averaging 27.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 52.5% FG, and 41.7% from beyond the arc, and up next on the scoring list for him is Wilt Chamberlain, who finished with 31,419 career points.
