Barry Gossage. Getty Images.
Just like LeBron and the All Time Scoring Record, when it came to Kevin Durant punching his ticket to the exclusive 30K Point Club, it was more a matter of “when” and not “if”. Once he came back from his achilles injury (around 7,000 points post-injury btw) and looked like the same old KD, it essentially became a lock that one of the greatest scorers the NBA has ever seen would join 7 other legends as the only player to ever cross the 30,000 point threshold. When he stepped up to the FT line had buried a pair of FTs late in the 3rd quarter, history was made
Now, I do want to be fair here and make sure we tell the whole story. While it’s true that KD is the 8th player in “NBA history” to achieve something like this, let’s also not forget Julius Erving. Yeah, he has some ABA totals included in his 30,026, but I don’t think it’s fair that he get overlooked when we’re talking about the 30K club. If you want to say “8th” because it’s “only” NBA points, that’s fine, but as an old I am obligated to make sure that history does not forget about one of the best players to ever do it.
The rest of the club is basically a who’s who of NBA legends, so it’s fitting that KD will now stand next to them for the rest of time
No matter how you slice it, 30K is a big deal. When only 8-9 guys have ever achieved something like this in the history of the league, it’s a big deal.
I mean, think of all the incredible players that didn’t make it. Moses Malone, Shaq, Melo, Dan Issel, Olajuwon, Oscar Robertson, Dominique Wilkins, George Gervin, Pierce, etc, none of them broke through. Given he’s such a historian of the game, it’s no surprise KD understands the significance of what he achieved last night
You know how we talk all the time about one of the most impressive parts about LeBron’s career is the fact that he lived up to the hype he had coming into the league and then some? The production, the longevity, all of that is part of his lure as a player.
Well, the same is kind of true with KD no? When he came into the league in 2007, he was billed as the franchise-altering talent. He was hyped as one of the best scorers we were ever going to see in the league and an overall generational talent. Fast forward to 2025 and hasn’t that all come true? He has the longevity, he has the production, and he has absolutely lived up to the amount of hype he had as an all time player back in 2007.
As a fan who grew up watching this era, think of how blessed we’ve been when it comes to historic players. Just look at that list! LeBron, Kobe, Jordan, Malone, Dirk and now KD. That’s a pretty great run for any of us in our mid 30s who have been watching this league for three decades. It’s basically the top 6 scorers of all time with one knocking on the door. Not bad!
The question now becomes, how high can KD climb? If we can assume normal health, I think suggesting KD can take over Kobe for 4th all time isn’t out of the question. In fact, I’d almost be surprised if he didn’t. We’re seeing nothing from KD’s game that is showing he’s on the decline, and at this point of his career, he’s finishing seasons with around 1,600 points. Tacking on another 3,000 and change doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch barring a big time injury. I think catching Karl Malone is asking a lot for a 36 year old, so I’m going to settle on KD being 4th all time in NBA history. Not a bad career if you ask me!
To really put into perspective how insane 30,000 points is, all you have to do is look at who is up next. At 26,931, James Harden is the next current player who has an outside shot at joining this exclusive club. Let’s say he finishes the season somewhere in the 27,000+ range. He’ll need another 3,000 and change as well, and for him, that’s averaging out to be around 3ish more seasons. Given he only has a player option left on his deal and he’s 36, do we think he gets there? Again, this is one of the greatest offensive talents in NBA history, a first ballot HOFer and a generational talent himself, and even he isn’t a lock to break 30K.
Steph Curry, ever heard of him? Pretty good player. What if I told you that at his age 36 season, he only has 24,694 career points? He’s going to be 4,000 and change away most likely after this season, and he’s another guy that over the last few years is putting up around 1,600+ points a season. Does he have another 3-4 years left to carry him into his age 40 season? I might feel better about him making it than Harden if we’re being honest, but it’s still not what I would consider a lock by any means.
In terms of the younger generation of players, you have guys like Tatum (13,226) who are young enough, play enough, and are consistent enough to think something like this is in their future. I’d say the same thing for Luka (12,103), and one that I have on the fence at the moment is probably Giannis (19,804). He’s about 3,000 points off KD’s pace by his age 30 season, but remember KD then lost an entire season in 2019-20. Giannis has the production when he’s on the floor, but injuries may be what ultimately keep him out. If not, he’s basically a lock for around 2,000 points a season or damn close to it, so for someone who needs 11,000+ more points, by the time Giannis is 36-37 he could very well be knocking on the door if his production doesn’t really drop.
But as you can see, at best we’re talking about 3-4 more guys and that may even be pushing it. If it were easy, there’d be a whole lot more than 8-9 guys to ever do it in NBA history.
So congrats to KD, one of the best scorers any of us have ever seen and will ever see
