KEVIN DURRANT MAKES HISTORY

Phoenix Suns player Kevin Durant needed 17 points going into Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets to move up to tenth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, behind Moses Malone. After hitting that milestone in this one, Durant passed Malone to hold the exclusive record of 10th place on this legendary list.

In the second quarter of the Suns’ 119-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, Durant passed Moses Malone to take over 10th place on the NBA’s career scoring list.

With 50.3 seconds remaining before halftime, Durant made his shot and scored two points driving the baseline. Prior to the game, Durant needed 17 points to surpass Malone, marking the 1,003rd of his career.

Despite shooting 8 for 25 from the floor and going 0 for 10 in the second half, Durant finished with 30 points. He reached 27,423 in his career total. Malone began his professional career with two seasons in the ABA and finished with 27,409 in the NBA.

Malone is among the more underappreciated players in the history of the NBA, according to Durant. The 6-foot-11 Durant, who has played for the SuperSonics/Thunder, Warriors, Nets, and Suns, is a two-time NBA champion and a 13-time All-Star. Before being selected second overall at the age of 19 in the 2007 NBA draught, he spent one season as a college student at Texas.

He has spent 17 seasons in the NBA, missing one due to an Achilles injury, and has averaged over 27 points per game.

Just shy of his career-high 32.0 points per game (achieved during his 2014 Kia MVP campaign), Durant is averaging 31.3 points while posting shooting splits of 51.8 FG%, 49.3 3P%, and 89.6 FT%. On November 21, in the Blazers game, he overtook Elvin Hayes to take the 11th position.