Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James sent a congratulatory message to Kevin Durant, congratulating him on entering the top ten of NBA all-time scoring leaders.
James posted his message on X (formerly Twitter):
Durant surpassed Moses Malone’s scoring record with a driving layup in the second quarter of the Phoenix Suns’ 119-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
James and Durant are arguably two of the best players of this generation and have had memorable head-to-head battles with each other. In 37 games between the two superstars, James had a 22-15 record, but Durant won two of the three games against James in the NBA Finals.
The 13-time All-Star needs 17 points coming into the game to surpass Malone’s record of 27,409 points. He finished with 30 points despite shooting just 8-for-25 from the field. He did most of his damage at the free throw line, where he hit 13 of 13 shots.
James became the league’s all-time scoring leader on February 8, 2023. He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s previous record of 38,387 points that he had held since his retirement during the 1988-89 season.
Durant has played the fewest games (1,003) among the NBA’s top 10 scoring leaders. Michael Jordan (1,072 games) and Wilt Chamberlain (1,045 games) are the only players in the top 10 with fewer than 1,100 career games.
James will soon have a chance to congratulate Durant in person. The Lakers will host the Suns on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament, with the winner heading to Las Vegas.