Watch Kevin Durant Make NBA History by Passing Dirk Nowitzki During Pelicans vs. Rockets
Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant added another milestone to his legacy on Sunday, surpassing Dirk Nowitzki and moving to sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list in a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.
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Durant now trails LeBron James (42,703), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643) and Michael Jordan (32,292). Catching both Jordan and Bryant is more than feasible, though reaching Malone may require Durant playing into his 40s.
After the game, Durant made it clear that his latest milestone "means a lot":
Durant later discussed his relationship with Nowitzki even further, per Joshua Koch of the Associated Press:
"To be up there with Dirk, somebody I looked up to, I idolized, I competed against," Durant said. "We had some great battles. He always was supportive of my career and my game. So, you know to be up there with a legend like that, it's just insane. And be right under Michael Jordan, it's crazy man.
"I want to continue to keep stacking, keep climbing up the charts, just see how I finish. It's been amazing so far."
In terms of facing Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs, Durant added: "There were times going into a series I hated Dirk, you know what I'm saying. I'm sure it was vice versa."
The 37-year-old has continued to perform at a high level, however, so it isn't a stretch to think he could do so. LeBron James has proven it's possible in the modern game and Durant has already said he wants to do the same.
"As long as I can," he said in September while discussing how long he wants to play. "I haven't put a number on it. I obviously think about retirement every year, and what it would be like. ... I don't even want to think about it right now, but when people are asking me these questions every day, I can't help myself. But I still enjoy going to the gym, and I enjoy that struggle of getting better every day, and grinding as an NBA player. Hopefully in my 40s, I can play until then."
