James Harden, 35, reached another major milestone in his career as the Clippers played the Hawks on the road. He passed Hall of Famer Earvin Hayes in the game to move his regular season scoring total to 12th on the all-time scoring list, behind Lebron James and Kevin Durant.
Harden has been on a remarkable comeback this season, not only making the All-Star team but also climbing the all-time scoring chart during the regular season. Before that, he had surpassed Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon in total points.
Harden had reached 27,291 points in the regular season, just 22 points shy of Hall of Fame legend Earvin Hayes’ 27,313 points. Therefore, he only needs 23 more points to complete the pass. Through the first 63 games of the season, Harden is averaging 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists, along with 1.5 steals. He has scored at least 23 points in 27 of those games.
After scoring at least 23 points in a guard matchup with Trey Young, Harden surpassed Earvin Hayes’ 27,313 points and moved into 12th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The achievement of this milestone is undoubtedly another important affirmation of Harden’s career.
Harden will next be chasing Hall of Fame veteran Moses Malone, who scored 27,409 points in the regular season. With Harden’s excellent form this season, he is expected to complete that surpass shortly.
Harden ranks third among active players in total regular-season points, behind Lebron James’ 41,924 and Kevin Durant’s 30,344. Despite being some distance away from the two superstars, Harden’s career continues and he still has a chance to further his place in history.
