Shaquille O’Neal Places Tough Challenge On Kevin Durant After Suns Star Surpassed Him In NBA’s Elite List

The Phoenix Suns were hosting the Philadelphia 76ers in the Footprint Center when Kevin Durant hit a milestone. The 14-time NBA All-Star passed Shaquille O’Neal to make 8th place on the all-time scoring list his own. He achieved the honor early in the third quarter of the game, drawing a response from the legend himself.

Durant finished the night with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. He entered the game needing just nine points to go past Shaquille O’Neal, who scored 28,596 points in his career. KD tied the score when he hit 8 in the first half and eventually brought his career totals to 28,610 as Phoenix won 115-102.

The Big Diesel didn’t waste a second in congratulating KD for taking his place. But it wouldn’t be O’Neal if he didn’t add a little Shaq-ness into it. In the video the Suns played during a timeout, Shaq challenged Durant, saying, “See if you can get to No. 1.” But his congratulatory message was as hearty as the big man. “Job well done. I knew it was gonna get done. If anybody was gonna pass me, it was definitely gonna be you. Durantula!”

After the game, Durant shared his thoughts on the milestone. “I’m grateful to be in the category with some of the greatest,” he said. “We all know what Shaq meant to the game of basketball. So to be up there with him is a major, major honor, in my opinion.” To reach this milestone, the Suns star surpassed four other names this season. He started 2023-24 as 13th on the list, 54 points behind Hakeem Olajuwon.

Getting past him in just two games, Durant kept climbing the list, surpassing Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone, and Carmelo Anthony. With tonight’s achievement, the two-time champion has put himself behind some of the greatest ever to grace the NBA. The list carries Wilt Chamberlain (31,419), Dirk Nowitzki (31,560), Michael Jordan (32,292), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Karl Malone (36,928), Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (38,387), and the biggest number of them all, LeBron James (40,179). With that in place, Shaquille O’Neal’s challenge sets the stage for a worthy sight in the field.

Can Kevin Durant dethrone LeBron James?

That’s a very tough scenario. Nobody in NBA history has ever broken past the 40k line. Nobody other than LeBron James. But then again, King James is not everyone. And he is not done. Even though rumors of his retirement have been lowkey flying all over, it’s not an immediate situation. This means that by the time he does retire, KD will have a pretty huge number to cross over or tie.

But like Shaq mentioned, if there is anyone who could get close to him, it would be Durant. One could argue that the two-time Finals MVP is rather closer to James in terms of hard work, consistency, and determination than most on the court. But his health is a factor to consider. An Achilles injury sidelined him for an entire season. Not to mention, he had a hard time playing up to 60 games until recently.

But this season has seen him largely healthy (62 games), and if he can continue to remain healthy, Kevin Durant might just give O’Neal’s challenge a thought.

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