Brooklyn Nets All-Star forward Kevin Durant made some NBA history against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Durant’s first basket of the contest came less than two minutes after tipoff, and with it, he passed Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson for 25th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Iverson, who played with the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies scored 24,368 points over the course of his illustrious career.
You can see the bucket that propelled Durant past Iverson below, via the NBA.
Passing up Iverson, a player he grew up idolizing, was a special moment for Durant.
“It means the world,” Durant said after the game. “I dedicated my life to this game at an early age. So I watched all these guys that I’m like passing up. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to be in the NBA like them and make an impact in the league like them. So Iverson, he was a pantheon for me. One of those guys that I emulated every time I went outside and played with my friends. It’s all surreal. I pictured I would be in the league, and had an idea, but to do it is pretty special.”
Iverson, who has been a champion of the younger generations of players, probably won’t be too upset about being passed by Durant, as he has repeatedly expressed his respect for Durant. He has stated that Durant is a player that he would have liked to have played with, and he was openly rooting for him to win his first NBA title in 2017. “I love his mama,” Iverson said of Durant at the time. “I love everything he stands for.”
Iverson now sits 26th on the all-time list, while Durant, 33, will continue to climb. The next player on the list in Durant’s sights is Ray Allen, who sits 24th with 24,505 career points. With the way that he’s been putting the ball in the basket, Durant can be expected to pass Allen in the near future, and it’s safe to say that he won’t stop there.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
