Durant moves past his ‘idol,’ Dirk Nowitzki, into 6th place on the NBA’s career scoring list
January 18, 2026
Kevin Durant moved into sixth place on the NBA’s career scoring list, passing his friend and idol Dirk Nowitzki. Durant scored 18 points in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans and raised his career scoring total to 31,562 points. Durant says he tried to emulate Nowitzki in his career and was thankful that the former Dallas Mavericks player took time to send a video message of congratulations. Next on the scoring list is Michael Jordan at 32,292 points. Durant says he wants to continue climbing up the list and that so far the ride as been amazing.