Durant believes that his place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list is even more impressive considering the amount of shots he’s taken.
Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant believes his place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, where he currently stands at number eight with 29,010 points, deserves more appreciation simply because of how he got here.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda’s Mark Medina, Durant revealed that his shot attempts are much lower than the rest, which makes KD one of the most efficient scorers of all time.
“That’s the story,” Durant told Sportskeeda following the Suns’ 116-113 overtime win over the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday at Intuit Dome. “That’s the story that you should be telling: ‘KD only took that many shots and only played that many games.’ If you look at the shot attempts of the guys on that list? When you see me again, let me know what you see when you see the shot attempts. Everybody on that list versus me. That’s the story.”
Kevin is the ultimate scorer
KD is correct in pointing out that he’s one of the more efficient bucket-getters of all time, considering the volume of shots taken and games played. If you look at the all-time NBA scoring list, the ratio between shots made, shots attempted, total percentage to total minutes and games played looks something like this:
LeBron James: 14,844 shots made in 29,329 shot attempts: 50.6% in 1,493 games played in 56,632 total minutes played and counting. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: 15,837 shots made in 28,307 shot attempts: 55.9% in 1,560 games played in 57,446 minutes played. Karl Malone: 13,528 shots made in 26,210 shot attempts: 51.6% in 1,476 games played in 54,852 minutes played. Kobe Bryant: 11,719 shots made in 26,200 shot attempts: 44.7% in 1,346 games played in 48,637 total minutes played. Michael Jordan: 12,192 shots made in 24,537 shot attempts: 49.69% in 1072 total games played in 41,011 total minutes played. Dirk Nowitzki: 11,169 shots made in 24,537 shot attempts: 47.06% in 1,522 total games played in 51,368 total minutes played. Wilt Chamberlain: 12,681 shots made in 23,497 shot attempts: 53.97% in 1,045 total games played in 47,859 total minutes played. And finally, KD: 9,958 shots made in 19,892 shot attempts: 50.06% in 1,062 total games played in 39,016 minutes played.
The fact that Durant has only taken 19,892 shots and is already in the top eight says a lot about his offensive game, which is greatly celebrated as one of the best in the NBA’s history. For the two-time champion, cracking the Top 10 on the all-time scoring list is as monumental to him as winning an MVP award and a championship.
“It’s top. You know what I’m saying? It’s like 1A to 1B to 1C. You know what I’m saying? MVP [2014]. Championship [2017,2018] or Finals MVP [2017, 2018]. That’s 1A through 1D. They all mean something special. It all gave me reassurance that what I’m doing in the gym is right. The type of teammate and the type of approach to my game, I’m doing a solid job. So keep up. That’s what that was — a reminder that ‘All right, you’re fuck*ng elite. That’s what those moments feel like,” Kevin said.
“Easy Money Sniper”
Durant, who recently became the eighth player in NBA history to eclipse 29,000 points, mentioned that the key to being an efficient scorer is devising a shot diet for every team he played on. Every single year, KD said that his looks would vary depending on how his squad needed him to score.
So Durant’s shot selection changed while he was on the Golden State Warriors with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, on the Oklahoma City Thunder with Russell Westbrook, in Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving and James Harden, and now with the Suns alongside Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Kevin’s mindset has long been how he can score more points without taking as many shots as possible. It has worked for the last 17 years and will continue to do so as “The Slim Reaper” aims to keep climbing the NBA’s all-time scoring list as efficiently as possible.