Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant offered a thoughtful and humble response when asked about the possibility of surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
During Friday’s postgame, reporter Leigh Ellis presented Durant with the math: To catch Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points, the 37-year-old Durant — currently sixth all-time with around 31,736 points — would need to average 25 points per game over his next 268 games.
Durant reacted with surprise.
“Jesus! God damn! I don’t know if I can get 25 a game for 270 more games, brother,” he said. “I never wanna say never, but those dudes set the bar so high. I think about the top three or four, you gotta play at least 20 years in the league to even reach that, and still be at that level for 15 or 20 years.”
The 18-year veteran emphasized longevity over chasing specific records:
“I’m looking at it more so like that. Play long, play 20-plus years in the league, and see where you end up. If I end up there, it’s cool; if not, I just wanna be around and be in the league,” he said.
Durant, who recently passed Wilt Chamberlain for a higher spot and is closing in on Michael Jordan for fifth, continues to score efficiently at 26.5 points per game this season. His realistic outlook highlights respect for the legends while focusing on sustained excellence amid injury challenges in recent years.
