“Iverson was in the pantheon for me” – Kevin Durant reflects on Allen Iverson’s impact on him as he surpasses the former MVP on the NBA’s all-time scoring list
Kevin Durant went past Allen Iverson on the NBA’s all-time scoring list on Wednesday night. Durant took sole control of the 25th position on the all-time points ladder when he nailed a 19-foot jumper in the opening two minutes of the contest against the Boston Celtics.
Durant finished the matchup with 21 points, on eight-of-16 shooting, and eight assists as the Brooklyn Nets rolled to a relatively easy 123-104 win against the Celtics.
Durant started the game with 24367 career points. He trailed Allen Iverson (24368) by just one point. Having overtaken Iverson now, Durant (24388 points) will now look to move past Ray Allen, who has 24505 career points. Speaking on the impact Iverson had on him, Durant said:
“I mean it means the world. I dedicated my life to this game at an early age. I watched all of these guys that I’m passing up. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to be in the NBA like them, make an impact in the league like them. So Iverson, he was in the pantheon for me. He was one of the guys that I emulated every time I went outside to play with my friends. It’s all surreal. I pictured I would be in the league. I did. But to do it is pretty special."
Durant became an Allen Iverson fan in his rookie year
Allen Iverson had a huge impact on the game. He was the overall No.1 pick in the famous 1996 Draft class, which also saw Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen and Steve Nash (Brooklyn Nets head coach) enter the NBA. Iverson won the 1997 Rookie of the Year ahead of these names.
AI was a 11-time All-Star, 2001 league MVP and four-time scoring champion. Commenting on when exactly did he become an Allen Iverson fan, Durant said:
“I really became a huge Iverson fan, obviously, just like everybody else, in his rookie year. Seeing him in Georgetown, playing for coach Thompson, and that whole culture that they built there, he was a huge part of that. But once he came to the league… He influenced a lot of people. To pass him on the list, to be up there with some of the greats on that list is incredible. I just got to keep going.”
And Durant really appears to keep going. The 33-year-old Brooklyn Nets superstar has led his team to the best record (14-5) in the Eastern Conference. Durant is averaging 28.1 ppg to rank among the top three scorers in the league currently.
He is a two-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, four-time scoring champion and 2014 league MVP. Both Durant and Allen Iverson were named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary team at the start of the 2021-22 season.