PHOENIX — Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to score 29,000 career points, reaching the mark Saturday night as his Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-102.
Durant joins an elite list of players who have reached the 29,000-point plateau, headlined by LeBron James, the NBA’s career scoring leader with 40,543 points. Behind James is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and now Durant.
Durant, 36, is 10th on the combined NBA and ABA list, with Julius Erving eighth and Moses Malone ninth.
“I’ve got to give credit to the people who have helped me since I was a kid,” Durant said. “Teammates who passed me the ball, set screens for me, coaches who drew up plays for me.”
The 14-time All-Star scored 31 points Saturday against the Mavs and now has 29,010 points over 17 seasons with Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Brooklyn and the Suns. The four-time league scoring champion has averaged 27.3 points over 1,064 games.
Durant has averaged at least 20 points in every season and continues to put the ball in the hoop at a high rate, scoring nearly 29 points per game through his first three games this season.
“What a tribute to a great, generational talent,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I feel incredibly lucky to be around him every day.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.