Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant entered the night trailing Dirk Nowitzki by just 16 points on the NBA's all-time scoring list, with 31,544 points to his name. Averaging over 26 a night in his 19th season in the league, it was inevitable for Durant to surpass Nowitzki on Sunday night in a clash against the New Orleans Pelicans. But Durant did just enough to squeak past Nowitzki, tallying 18 points in the Rockets' 119-110 victory.
It speaks volumes to how excellent of a scorer Durant is that despite missing a whole season and missing a ton of games over the past few seasons, he still ranks this high on the all-time scoring list. Nonetheless, the Rockets star credited the people around him for helping him last this long as a superstar in the NBA, allowing him to accomplish such a feat.
“It means a great deal to be in the league this long. It takes for you to play a thousand-plus games for you to be in this category at least. So [I'm] grateful for all of the people that helped me play this many games,” Durant said in his postgame presser. “Without them, without the village, I wouldn't be here.”
"Without the village, I wouldn't be here."
Kevin Durant shouts out everyone who helped him get to #6 on the all-time scoring list 💯 https://t.co/XoiVse2ZlE pic.twitter.com/TKVPkUnVQZ
— NBA (@NBA) January 19, 2026
The next man Durant can surpass on the all-time scoring list is fifth-ranked Michael Jordan, who has 32,292 points to his name.
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Rockets' Kevin Durant should end the season 5th on the all-time scoring list
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) dribbles against the New Orleans Pelicans during the third quarter at Toyota Center.
Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Durant is trailing Jordan by only 730 points on the all-time scoring list, and as soon as this season, the Rockets star should be in the top-five all-time in scoring, provided, of course, that he stays healthy.
The Rockets star is putting up around 26 points a night, and there are 42 games left in Houston's season. Durant only needs to average his current scoring number per game for 29 games to pass Jordan — a more than doable feat.