Kevin Durant surpassed the 15,000 point mark on Tuesday night in a game against the Sacramento Kings, becoming the second-youngest player ever to do so.
In the opening minutes of the game in Sacramento, Durant caught a pass at the right elbow, went across the lane and nailed a 12-foot fade away for his 15,001st point. Typical Durant shot. He would go on to finish with 26 points in a 104-92 Thunder win. The road crowd didn’t seem to be aware of the milestone, but Durant was congratulated by teammates during a break in the action.
Durant achieved the milestone at age 26 years, 78 days. The mark is second only to LeBron James, who did it at 25 years, 79 days.
It’s even more impressive when you consider the fact that Kevin Durant played one year of college ball at the University of Texas before entering the NBA, while LeBron came to the league right out of high school. The reigning MVP does have the current advantage of having four scoring titles to LeBron’s one, however.
Durant has averaged 27.3 points for his career while shooting 48 percent from the field over seven-plus seasons.
He missed the first 17 games to start this season while recovering from offseason foot surgery but has averaged 20.9 points in eight games since his return. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward was selected by the then-Seattle SuperSonics with the No. 2 pick in the 2007 draft before moving to Oklahoma City the following year.
The Thunder opened this season at a dismal 3-12, but have gone on to win eight of their last nine games to move one game out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Thunder are 7-1 since Durant returned to the lineup on Dec. 2nd.
During his time in the NBA, Durant has become one of the most dominant, versatile, and efficient scorers the league. This milestone is just another example of him building towards one of the best individual careers we’ve seen in this era of basketball.
