Kevin Durant is arguably the most complete scorer in NBA history and finds himself at eighth on the all-time scoring list with 30,571 points. For all of his scoring prowess, though, Durant surprisingly has a career high of just 55 points. A fan on X asked the new Houston Rockets superstar why he doesn’t have more 50 and 60-point games, and he had the perfect response.
“I have 30k points, it’s 60 points in there somewhere.”
Durant was coming under fire for not having the kind of explosive scoring nights that the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant had. Jordan had 31 50-point games in his career, while Bryant had 25. Durant, on the other hand, has just nine of them.
Jordan and Bryant also hit the 60-point mark on multiple occasions, something Durant has never accomplished. Some fans claimed this was down to the 36-year-old being worried about his efficiency.
The last time Durant shot under 50% from the field in a season was 2011-12. The 15-time All-Star has been lauded for his efficiency, but is now coming under fire for it. Durant, unsurprisingly, was surprised by the criticism.
“It’s kinda crazy how the efficiency thing has become a talking point when I take majority of my shots contested and analytically, from the most inefficient parts of the floor…maybe that’s a reason why I choose to be selective.”
Durant does take plenty of tough contested shots, so to suggest his lack of 60-point games is down to him wanting to preserve his shooting percentages is unfair. It’s just not his game to jack up a lot of shots.
While Durant wasn’t interested in answering the fan there, he has spoken about this in the past. During an appearance on The Old Man and The Three podcast, Durant explained why he doesn’t score 60-70 points in a game.
“That’s why I don’t get 60-70 points a game,” Durant said. “When I watch these dudes get 60 points, I see the adjustments don’t change from the opposing coach… It takes a lot for someone to score big. 15-16 free throws, wide-open three-pointers, I’m not getting those looks. Shooting over two people, it’s hard to get 60 points. So I’ve got to play with adjustments to the opposing coach in-game.”
With Durant turning 37 in September this year, the chances of him finishing his career without a 60-point game seem fairly high. If he were playing on a bad team, there might have been a chance, but he’s gone to the Rockets. Durant is the primary option on offense, but has enough good pieces around him, which ensures he won’t force the issue.
While those incredibly high-scoring games aren’t on the horizon, expect Durant to get close to 30 points every night next season as well. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game for the Phoenix Suns in 2024-25.
Durant’s longevity is incredible, but he admitted it’s easier now to score 30 points compared to 15 years ago. All the spacing on the court means it’s just not as difficult as it once was to hit that mark.
