Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant scored a game-high 39 points in his team’s 100-95 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. In the process, Durant passed legendary Houston Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Olajuwon is already in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, while Durant, 35, is a certainty to be inducted as soon as possible after the conclusion of his playing days.
In postgame comments, Durant made it clear that he had an enormous amount of respect for Olajuwon. Among Durant’s remarks:
My mom had a crush on Olajuwon when I was a kid. So that’s all I used to hear in the house. It wasn’t Jordan. It was Olajuwon in the house. [That’s] somebody she told me to study since [I was] a kid, and I really admire his game and his journey as a man and as a basketball player. It’s always amazing to be amongst the greats.
Entering Friday, Durant had 26,949 career points, while Olajuwon now ranks 13th at 26,946. Interestingly enough, the next two names for Durant to pass on that storied list — No. 11 Elvin Hayes (27,313) and No. 10 Moses Malone (27,409) — are both, like Olajuwon, Hall of Fame centers who played extensively with the Rockets.
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