Kevin Durant becomes eighth player to join NBA's 29K points club

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant continues to climb the NBA's all-time scoring list. 

During his team's 114-102 win over the Mavericks on Saturday, Durant became the eighth player in history to reach 29,000 career points, joining LeBron James (40,543), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Michael Jordan (32,292), Dirk Nowitzki (31,560) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419).

James remains the only active player ahead of him on the list, meaning Durant, 36, has a realistic chance of climbing several positions on the ladder before calling time on his storied career.

Last season, Durant surpassed five players — Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, Carmelo Anthony and Shaquille O'Neal — to climb to No. 8 on the all-time scoring list. 

So, can Durant potentially catch Chamberlain or Nowitzki this season?

With 29,010 points at the time of writing, Durant would need to score 2,409 points the rest of the way to eclipse Chamberlain and another 141 to surpass Nowitzki. 

It's unlikely; Durant amassed 2,032 points from 75 regular-season games last year while averaging 27.1 per game. If he were to maintain the same pace this season, he'd fall several hundred points short of eclipsing "The Big Dipper" on the list. However, if he remains healthy, he is a shoo-in to surpass both Chamberlain and Nowitzki in the 2025-26 season, possibly even Jordan.

After joining the 29K club, a humble Durant credited his teammates and support system for helping him reach the milestone. 

"I've got to give credit to the people who have helped me since I was a kid," Durant said, via ESPN. "Teammates who passed me the ball, set screens for me, coaches who drew up plays for me."

Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer said Durant's scoring milestones were just a byproduct of his greatness as a three-level scorer. 

"It’s a tribute to a generational talent," Budenholzer said, via NBA.com. “He gets to great spots to be able to shoot and score against great defenses. He’s been doing it pretty much his entire career.”

While Durant may never catch James atop the list, there's a good chance he finishes in the top three given he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. The 36-year-old sharpshooter has previously expressed his desire to play into his 40s. If he were to play another four full seasons while averaging 25 points per game, he'd join the 37k club.