Rockets superstar Kevin Durant adds another career milestone
Houston Rockets star forward Kevin Durant added another impressive feat to his illustrious career by becoming only the eighth player in league history to reach 31,000 points.
It puts him in rare company, joining the likes of LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kobe Bryant.
“It’s incredible,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said via ESPN. “I played against him his rookie year and a few times after that and remember him coming in and guys trying to guard the same way [they do] now, being physical with him, take him off the ball. He’s learned to adapt, to adjust. To be able to do this with the longevity at this high level efficiency-wise as well, it’s an incredible career [and] a long way to go.”
Durant continues to play at an elite level in his 19th season, ranking 15th in the league with 25.3 points while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor and 38.4 percent from beyond the arc.
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He holds the opportunity to surpass Chamberlain (31,419), Nowitzki (31,560), and potentially Jordan (32,292) this season.
“As you’re coming up into the league, you look at these guys as heroes and you put them on pedestals, and you look at their accomplishments as sometimes unreachable,” Durant said. “But then you get on that road trying to do your thing. That’s how I’ve done since 2008. I’ve been focused on trying to be the best player I can be, and they set a standard for each player when they left the league.
“Guys like Wilt, Michael, Kobe — I’m missing so many guys. They just set a standard that I try to reach every day.”
Durant has played a significant role in guiding the Rockets to a strong start to the season, currently sitting in the fourth spot in the Western Conference with a 15-6 record.
