Kevin Durant Becomes Second Youngest in NBA History to 20,000 Points

Kevin Durant is the 44th member of the NBA's 20,000-point club.

After missing the last three games with a right calf strain, Durant had been sitting on 19,975 points since Jan. 3.

He apparently wanted to get the milestone out of the way as quickly as possible.

In his first game back, Durant scored his 25th point of the game on a jump shot with 1:41 left in the second quarter Wednesday against the Clippers. He finished the half with exactly 25 points.

At 29 years and 103 days, Durant is the second youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points behind only LeBron James, who accomplished the feat at 28 years and 17 days. Kobe Bryant at 29 years and 122 days was previously the second fastest to accomplish the feat.

Upon returning to the locker room at halftime, Durant was greeted by an injured Steph Curry who was filming the whole interaction. He posted it to his Instagram Story.

"Hey congratulations big fella, I got the first video of the second youngest player with 20,000 points. Ahahahaha. Congrats big fella," Curry told Durant.

Durant, 44th on the NBA's all-time scoring list, is closing in on former Warriors forward Antawn Jamison (20,042) for 43rd all-time.

Before Wednesday's game, head coach Steve Kerr was asked about Durant as he approached the milestone.

"He can do anything he wants. He's one of those rare guys that has an answer for everything. He can go right around bigger guys, he can post up small guys, he can dribble into a 3, he can spot up for a 3, he can come off a pick. I mean, he can do anything against anybody. Coaching against him, that was the fear. You really didn't know what to do with him. And coaching him, that's the joy. You just plug him in," Kerr said. "I think the beauty of what Kevin has done for us here is that he understands that he doesn't have to be the man, that this has been Steph's team for many years. But there are times when he does need to be the man, like the Finals last year or when Steph goes out with an injury. And Kevin has this incredible, humble way about him where he could demand the ball and demand a bigger responsibility, but he doesn't necessarily need that. He just wants to be a part of it. He accepts that responsibility when we need him. He averages whatever he does, 25, 26 points a game, and Finals MVP and all this. But when he needs to step back, he just steps back. He's an amazing player, both in terms of skill and humility."

Durant never expected to see his name among the greats of the game.

"I had one goal when I came into the league, and that was for me to win Rookie of the Year, and I just kept building after that. My second year, I wanted to average 25. Every year I had a goal, but I never envisioned me with 20,000 points, 30,000 points," Durant told ESPN.

The next round number for Durant is 25,000 points. Only 20 players are currently part of that club, although Carmelo Anthony will get there soon. Vince Carter needs 344 points to get there.

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