Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns recently took on the Los Angeles Lakers in a heated battle. Despite losing the game narrowly, 100-95, the Slim Reaper came away from the game having hit a huge milestone. With 39 points, KD surpassed Hakeem Olajuwon on the all-time scoring charts.
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It is an incredible achievement and one that was discussed in depth on Inside the NBA. Speaking highly of both Durant and Olajuwon, the crew consisting of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley praised KD. However, amid their lauding, Ernie noticed something about the list.
Surprisingly, in the graphic that was presented to them, NBA on TNT’s very own, Sir Charles was listed at 34. This prompted Johnson to jokingly call him a scrub, leading to much laughter from the crew. Even Chuck, who was equally entertained, couldn’t believe he was placed that low.
“34? You’re a scrub!”
Fortunately, Ernie later pointed out that this was just a prank. The graphic may have shown 34, but in reality, Chuck the Round Mound of Rebound is 29th on the list. That being said, he is still significantly lower than both KD and Hakeem, who now rank 12th and 13th respectively.
Despite being in the top 10 Shaquille O’Neal is worried that Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry will soon surpass him
Charles Barkley may be ranked 29th, but one person on Inside the NBA who is in the top 10 in all-time scoring is Shaquille O’Neal. With 28,596 points, the Big Diesel is currently in the eighth spot. However, given the clip at which players are scoring in this day and age, the rankings can change quickly.
This is something that has Shaq worried. He is proud of the fact that he is in the top 10, but he has expressed concerns that he may one day be surpassed. In particular, he is concerned that the scoring specialists, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry will knock him out of that prestigious top-10 list.
“I’m gonna be out of the top ten in about two years. Durant, Harden, and Curry probably passed me up.”
At this point, Shaq’s position in the top 10 is safe. However, if Durant continues to keep his average up, he will certainly get near Shaq or even move past him by the end of the season. This makes the season all the more interesting from an individual perspective, both for O’Neal and KD. But, at the end of the day, regardless of their position they are still two of the all-time greats.
