Kevin Durant reacts to overtaking Allen Iverson on the NBA all-time scoring list

Much like many Hoopers of his generation, Kevin Durant grew up watching Allen Iverson play for the Philadelphia 76ers.

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On Wednesday night, Durant scored 21 points in Brooklyn’s victory over Boston, overtaking Iverson to 25th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

KD now has 24,388 total points, 20 more than Iverson, and is likely to overtake Ray Allen (24th all-time with 24,505 total points) for the next several weeks as well.

Durant overtook Iverson with his first bucket of the game.

“I mean, it means the world. I dedicated my life to this game from a young age … so I watched all these guys that I like to leave out,” said Durant after the game. “So Iverson, he was the pantheon to me. One of those guys I mimicked every time I went outside and played with my friends. It’s all surreal. I imagined I was in the league and had an idea … but doing it is very special. “

“I’ve seen all of these guys that I miss. I wanted to be like them, I wanted to be like them in the NBA and like them in the league. Iverson was a pantheon to me.”

Kevin Durant contemplates overtaking Allen Iverson 25th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list: pic.twitter.com/3J4pM2W8kJ

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Durant, who grew up in the DC area, also pondered how he played Iverson at Georgetown.

“I became a really big Iverson fan, of course, just like everyone else in his rookie year. But seeing him in Georgetown and playing for the coach.” [John] Thompson and all the culture they built there, he was a huge part of it, “Durant said.

“But when he got into the league he had players … I was a center, power forward on my young team, and we were all long crossing and double crossing. He influenced a lot of people on the list and with some of the big ones To be at the top of this list is incredible. I just have to keep going. “

Durant could – and would – have been higher on the scoreboard if an Achilles injury hadn’t incapacitated him for the entire 2019-20 NBA season.

Provided he stays healthy, Durant has the potential to improve many places this season. Durant currently averages 28.1 points per game this season, and if he sticks to that average in 2021-22, he could potentially reach and surpass Kevin Garnett in 18th place on the list.

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