Kevin Durant is undisputedly one of the best scorers in NBA history.
Kevin Durant passed Shaquille O’Neal for eighth in the NBA’s all-time scoring list. We’ve always expected it, but it’s a different feeling when the time comes. As ageless as he’s looked on the court ever since late 2020, Father Time always wins. We’re closer to the end of Kevin Durant’s career than we’d want it to be.
Instead of being sappy, it’s best to celebrate. To commemorate Durant’s newest career milestone, GIVEMESPORT took a trip down memory lane and compiled the Top 10 Scoring Performances of Kevin Durant’s illustrious career.
155 Points versus the Atlanta Hawks
April 2, 2022, Regular Season
Kevin Durant’s career-high best should capture the KD experience post-Achilles: scintillating, incredibly efficient, yet so frustrating for reasons that are usually not in KD’s control.
This was the most efficient performance of Durant on this list. On top of that, he also had seven rebounds and three assists to help out the Brooklyn Nets. The problem? The rest of his teammates outside of Kyrie Irving weren’t very good. What surrounded him was an imbalanced roster that forced him to put up more shots than he’d like.
Will Durant ever achieve a new career high? Never say never, but given his current circumstances, it’s difficult to imagine. He’s Efficiency Man for a reason. He’ll only put up big scoring binges when he needs to.
Right now, the Phoenix Suns don’t exactly need it. When the time comes that they do, expect Durant to do it in the way that he’s done so his entire career: with efficiency, simplicity, and smoothness that can’t be matched.
254 Points versus the Golden State Warriors
January 17, 2014, Regular Season
Entering 2014, LeBron James was still considered as the undisputed best player in the world. Kevin Durant was number two, but the gap was still considerably big, and for good reason. What could have Durant done to close the gap?
Do what he does best: Get buckets.
January 2014 was a special time to be a basketball fan. We were witness to one of the hottest stretches in Durant’s NBA career. With Russell Westbrook in and out of the lineup due to injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s franchise player needed to step up. He put on a flurry of scoring performances, dropping 30-point games like it was nothing even though he faced double team after double team.
This performance versus the Golden State Warriors was the peak of that stretch.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled along, fans in the building were starting to grasp that Durant was about to finish with a special closing stretch. Even without his star point guard, Durant could not be stopped by the Warriors. The dagger was a turnaround jumper versus Draymond Green with a little less than five minutes left in the game clock.
The energy in the building was different that night. The gap was starting to close. Durant had arrived and had to be considered as the top MVP candidate by that time.
353 Points versus the New York Knicks
March 13, 2022, Regular Season
By choosing the Brooklyn Nets over the New York Knicks, Kevin Durant immediately became a member of the Most Wanted List of the Knicks fanbase. The Nets-Knicks games during the Durant era always had extra juice to them because of the history.
Durant understood the assignment.
This game included the customary Durant daggers and difficult makes. It’s also remembered for one of Durant’s most memorable celebrations: the “too tiny” celebration he put up against Evan Fournier. Again, one of the few gems in a hot mess of a season for the Brooklyn Nets.
452 Points versus the Dallas Mavericks
January 18, 2013, Regular Season
The Dallas Mavericks were one of Durant’s earliest rivals. They booted his Oklahoma City Thunder out of the Western Conference Finals during the 2011 season and they continuously gave him a hard time even after that season.
This performance was a dagger in the hearts of Mavericks fans.
This was a gritty overtime classic that had Durant taking and making 21 free throws. It wasn’t his most efficient on the field, but he made it when it mattered the most, scoring a high-looping jumper that sealed the deal for Oklahoma City in this game.
The Mavericks were a pain to Durant during his formative years. In many ways, these games were essential to the education of the Kevin Durant we’ve grown to know at present.
551 Points versus the Denver Nuggets
February 19, 2012, Regular Season
The 2011-2012 season was a special one for Kevin Durant. Coming off a Western Conference Finals finish the previous year, Oklahoma City was looking like a team to truly take seriously coming into the lockout-shortened season.
It was also the start of Durant’s rise from a young superstar to an undisputed top-two player in the league.
It was a cherry on top of the sundae that he did this against division rival Denver and fellow scoring forward Carmelo Anthony. At the time, it was the sweetest way to get one’s career high.
Little did we know this was the quintessential Durant performance that would define his peak: efficient, effective, and smooth.