“That’s the story”: Kevin Durant on distinction between himself and 8-Best scorers of all-time, why injuries don't bother him and more (exclusive)
Kevin Durant’s eyes lit up as he processed a milestone that contextualized what has made him arguably the NBA’s most efficient scorer.
The Phoenix Suns’ forward ranks in eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list (28,924 career points) despite missing nearly 1 ½ seasons after tearing his right Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals.
“That’s the story,” Durant told Sportskeeda following the Suns’ 116-113 overtime win over the LA Clippers on Wednesday at Intuit Dome. “That’s the story that you should be telling: ‘KD only took that many shots and only played that many games.’ If you look at the shot attempts of the guys on that list? When you see me again, let me know what you see when you see the shot attempts. Everybody on that list versus me. That’s the story.”
Here is what the story tells.
Durant ranks behind Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 points), Dirk Nowitzki (31,560), Michael Jordan (32,292), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Karl Malone (36,928), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and LeBron James (40,490) on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. But consider the difference in shot attempts, field-goal percentage, total games and minutes played among Durant and the rest of the top seven:
Durant: 9,958 out of 19,892 shots (50.06%) in 1,062 total games in 39,016 total minutes
Chamberlain: 12,681 out of 23,497 shots (53.97%) in 1,045 total games in 47,859 total minutes
Nowitzki: 11,169 out of 23,734 shots (47.06%) in 1,522 total games in 51,368 total minutes
Jordan: 12,192 out of 24,537 shots (49.69%) in 1,072 total games in 41,011 total minutes
Bryant: 11,719 out of 26,200 shots (44.7%) in 1,346 total games in 48,637 total minutes
Malone: 13,528 out of 26,210 shots (51.6%) in 1,476 total games in 54,852 total minutes
Abdul-Jabbar: 15,837 out of 28,307 shots (55.9%) in 1,560 total games in 57,446 total minutes
James: 14,844 out of 29,329 shots (50.6%) in 1,493 total games in 56,632 total minutes
Among the NBA’s top eight scorers, Durant ranks highly in various categories that highlight his overall efficiency. Durant climbed to the top eight while logging the fewest amount of minutes played and fewest amount of shot attempts among those players. Durant only eclipsed Chamberlain and Jordan for more games played. And Durant fares fourth in career field-goal percentage behind Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain, Malone and James.
No wonder Clippers coach Tyronn Lue described Durant as “a walking bucket” that “has no weakness offensively.”
Lue, who served as a Team USA assistant coach in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, hardly found it surprising that Durant played a key role in Team USA winning consecutive gold medals while becoming Team USA’s all-time leading scorer (518 points in 28 games, four gold medals).
Two months later, Durant continued to showcase his scoring efficiency to Lue’s dismay. In the Suns’ overtime win over the Clippers, Durant finished with 25 points while shooting 8-for-17 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line. That included Durant making a falling 15-footer over Clippers guards James Harden and Amir Coffey to tie the game, 103-103, with 21 seconds left in regulation. The Suns then forced overtime after contesting Harden’s floater on the next play.
“This team, you never know when they’ll sell out to try to stop me,” Durant told reporters afterward. “So sometimes they might let me play one-on-one. Sometimes they might run a set and sell out. James is playing [at the] two sometimes. T Lue, being around him this summer, I understand how bright a mind he is with the defense. I know he’s trying to throw me off my spots a little bit. He did a solid job of that. But I just tried to stay focused on the rim and knock that one down.”
Durant did more than that. While Coffey defended Durant at the top of the key, Durant performed a series of pump fakes to throw him off balance. Durant then dribbled toward the right block and posted up on Coffey. Though Harden rotated to double, Durant leaned on his length, footwork and high arc to create separation. The shot fell into the basket just as Durant fell down.
“Especially in those situations, you need to have a spot that you can go to that you feel comfortable with,” Durant told reporters. “I felt comfortable with a lot of different spots on the floor. That middle of the floor is kind of hard to run and double from there. I can see things a little better from there. I try to get to my spots and knock them down. Just keep the game simple. Don’t try to dribble too much against a team like this because they swarm the ball a lot. Just try to keep the game simple. That was one of my spots.”
To his frustration, Budenholzer often watched Durant make dramatic shots at his expense when he coached the Atlanta Hawks (2013-18) and Milwaukee Bucks (2018-23). In Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals between the Bucks and Brooklyn Nets, Durant posted 48 points (a Game 7 record) and made a turnaround jumper to force overtime. It would have been a game-winner had Durant not stepped slightly over the 3-point line. The Bucks escaped in overtime before winning the NBA title ironically against the Suns.
“He’s an amazing shotmaker. We’ve all seen it for a long time,” Budenholzer said. “It’s just great to be on his side. When he rises up, those are counting for us.”
Afterward, Durant spoke to Sportskeeda about his perspective on his eighth-place standing on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.
What does your place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list rank compare to all of your other accomplishments?
Durant: “It’s tops. You know what I’m saying? It’s like 1A to 1B to 1C. You know what I’m saying? MVP [2014], championship [2017, 2018] or Finals MVP [2017, 2018]. That’s 1A through 1D. They all mean something special. It all gave me reassurance that what I’m doing in the gym is right. The type of teammate and the type of approach to my game, I’m doing a solid job. So keep up. That’s what that was – a reminder that ‘All right, you’re f--- elite (laughs). That’s what those moments feel like.”
What about the players that you’re passing, or that you’re close to passing? What does that represent?
Durant: “It’s always great to be in that conversation with legends and all-time greats. It’s something that I kind of expected to do. When you look at the science behind it all, I’m playing a lot of minutes and I can shoot whenever I want. I started this game off young at 18 or 19 years old. I’ve been playing for 18 years. When you add all that stuff up? When you think about it, it’s not that hard to do (laughs). You know what I’m saying? You get an opportunity, and you work hard. The hard work and finding an opportunity is tough. But actually getting out there and doing it? It’s second nature. So I’ve just been blessed with great teammates and great coaches who let me kind of do my thing.”
Compared to a lot of the other guys on the list, you don’t shoot as high a volume of shots. What’s the key to being both so prolific and so efficient?
Durant: “Staying conscious on how can I score the most points efficiently without having to take away from anybody else. That has always been my game on top of the game. I got good players on my team, great players on my team. I can easily take 30 shots. But they need their shots, too. I learned in OKC during 2011-12 when James [Harden], Russ [Westbrook] and Serge [Ibaka] started getting better. We all started getting better. I thought, ‘Eh, 28 shots? 27 shots? 14-for-27 don’t look good when we all can go get 40.’ Since then, I’ve tried to practice, ‘How can I score the most points without taking the most shots?’”
A few years ago, I talked to Kareem about you. It was a different context because it was before you tore your Achilles. But then he predicted that you would jump over him for the No. 1 spot….
Durant: (interrupts) “I’ve been close. I missed a lot of time. I missed some games and seasons where I was scoring some good numbers. I could have come close.”
The Achilles injury created a domino effect with you in a lot of ways. But specifically with the all-time scoring list, to what extent have you had ‘what ifs’ about possibly breaking that record if not for your injury?
Durant: “Nah. I never looked at it as, ‘Man what if I could’ve gotten this many points?’ It’s all part of the journey. Getting hurt is a part of the journey. Getting hurt is a part of basketball. It’s something that I can [understand]. There’s some adversity that you need to go through in order for you to understand what this really means. I think those injuries was one of those things for me.”
It's wild, though. You’re in 8th place, despite missing a season and a half [with the Achilles injury]…
Durant: “Man, that’s the story. That’s the story! That’s the story that you should be telling: ‘KD only took that many shots and only played that many games.’ If you look at the shot attempts of the guys on that list? When you see me again, let me know what you see when you see the shot attempts. Everybody on that list versus me. That’s the story. In between the lines, that’s the story you got to tell. ‘Man this mother--- really is efficient.’ A lot of people are efficient. But I’m just saying.”
Mark Medina is an NBA inside for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.