Michael Jordan finished his NBA career ranked third on the all-time scoring list with 32,292 career points. 22 years later, he ranks fifth, and could drop down into sixth place if Kevin Durant has an above average season in 2025-26.
Kevin Durant Is Moving Up The NBA All-Time Scoring List
The 36-year-old Durant has been climbing up the all-time scoring list in recent years. He began the 2024-25 season in 10th place, but was able to pass both Moses Malone and Julius Irving by scoring 1,647 regular season points with the Phoenix Suns. He now sits in eighth place overall, and will pass more legendary names if he stays healthy during the upcoming campaign.
If Kevin Durant stays on his current scoring pace next season, he will pass Michael Jordan on the all-time scoring list.
Insane. pic.twitter.com/seiUXCxGvX
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) July 3, 2025
Durant’s current points total of 30,571 is fewer than 900 away from Wilt Chamberlain’s total, and roughly 1,000 behind Dirk Nowitzki. Should he maintain a scoring average of 25 points per game in 2025-26 (two points lower than his career average), then Durant should be able to pass both players by playing in 40 games.
But will he catch the legendary Michael Jordan in the same year?
How Many Points Does Durant Need To Pass Michael Jordan?
Kevin Durant is currently 1,721 points behind MJ on the NBA all-time list. If he posts an average of 25 points, it would take him roughly 69 games to reach the plateau, which is very doable in a healthy season. Despite injury issues last season, Durant was able to play in 62 games for Phoenix, and he played in 75 contests the season prior.
Those may have been outliers, though, as they marked the first time that Durant played in more than 60 games in a season since his time with the Golden State Warriors.
New Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant underwent thumb surgery this offseason, NBA sources tell @PaperCityMag. The surgery is considered minor and a source tells PaperCity that the Rockets leadership "did not give it a second thought" after their doctors looked at it. Full story… pic.twitter.com/xONt6pUK5A
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) July 14, 2025
He will certainly be the focal point of his new offense. The Houston Rockets finished in second place in the Western Conference standings in 2024-25, but showed their deficiencies during their disappointing postseason run.
It was obvious that they were lacking a go-to scorer in certain situations, and pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade a few weeks back that brought Durant into the fold. He immediately becomes the team’s best bucket-getter, meaning that a 25 point per game average might even be underselling him on his projections.
Should Durant pass Jordan this coming year, he’ll have his sights set on surpassing Kobe Bryant during the following campaign.
