Kevin Durant becomes eighth player to score 31000 points in NBA history

Kevin Durant (TechCrunch, Wikimedia Commons)

NBA history was made on Friday evening, as Kevin Durant became the eighth player ever to record 31000 points. He accomplished the feat in a 117-98 win over ironically, Durant’s former team, the Phoenix Suns.

Durant recorded his 31,000th point on a 10 foot jump shot with five minutes and 45 seconds into the first half. At the time, Durant put the Rockets up by a score of 12-10.

LeBron James is the all-time leader in NBA scoring. He has 42 297 points. James is followed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38387), Karl Malone (36928), Kobe Bryant (33643), Michael Jordan (32292), Dirk Nowitzki (31560), and Wilt Chamberlain (31419).

Now, after the Rockets’s two games over the weekend, Durant has 31051 points. Of Durant’s 31051 career points, 17566 have come with the Oklahoma City Thunder, 5374 have come with the Golden State Warriors, 3887 have come with the Suns, 3744 have come with the Brooklyn Nets, and 480 have come with the Rockets.

In Friday’s contest, Durant had 28 points. He was second on the team in scoring. Point guard Amen Thompson of San Leandro, California led the Rockets with 31 points. Durant made 11 of 17 field goals, four free throws, two three pointers, and had eight assists, four rebounds, two steals, one block and was a +29.

This season after 19 games, Durant is averaging 25.3 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, 3.9 assists per game and one steal per game. He also has a field goal percentage of .505, three point percentage of .384, and free throw percentage of .890.

The Rockets are fourth in the Western Conference at the moment with a record of 15 wins and six losses. They are behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.