Kevin Durant is one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers. The Slim Reaper has been in the NBA for 14 seasons, and had has consistently been one of the best offensive players in the league. Durant is a sniper who can score from any part of the court. With regards to his offensive game, there are very few weaknesses. He can take it to the hole, he can play iso-ball, and he can be a spot-up shooter.
Durant has won multiple scoring titles during his time in the NBA and is described as one of the greatest scorers in the history of the NBA, if not the greatest. And this past season, Durant surpassed his rival LeBron James in an important category.
After the 2020-21 NBA season, Kevin Durant surpassed LeBron James on the all-time scoring career averages list. James was previously ahead of Durant at fifth, but his scoring average dropped this season, causing his career average to drop as well. Durant now has a career average of 27.02 points per game, compared to LeBron James’ 27.00 points per game.
It is a meager difference, but surpassing King James is a big accomplishment, especially when he is the third-highest scorer in NBA history. Durant is the highest scoring career average who is currently active in the league. Durant is only behind Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Jerry West in the all-time scoring career averages list.
The top-10 players with the highest scoring career averages are as follows:
1. Michael Jordan: 30.12 PPG
2. Wilt Chamberlain: 30.07 PPG
3. Elgin Baylor: 27.36 PPG
4. Jerry Rice: 27.03 PPG
5. Kevin Durant: 27.02 PPG
6. LeBron James: 27.00 PPG
7. Allen Iverson: 26.66 PPG
8. Bob Pettit: 26.36 PPG
9. Oscar Robertston: 25.68 PPG
10. James Harden: 25.14 PPG
Aside from LeBron and KD, James Harden is the only other active player who ranks among the top 10. While Durant’s achievement is incredible, we must also remember that James has four more seasons under his belt than Durant. So for James to be in the top 10 and so close to Durant is incredible. This is far from the final average for either of these two players, as both have a long way to go in their careers. But it will be interesting to see who ends up on top in the history book for this stat.
