Four-time Olympic champion Kevin Durant added another feather to his cap, becoming only the eighth player in history to score 31,000 career points.
Durant, a two-time NBA Finals MVP and four-time scoring champion, reached the milestone in the Houston Rockets’ 117-98 win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday (6 December).
The 37-year-old joined the exclusive club made up of basketball legends Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James.
Needing four points to achieve the feat, Durant did it in style by scoring 28 points on the night, including a 10ft jump shot to reach the milestone. He now boasts 31,024 career points.
“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 what 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.”