You’d think so soon after a historic climb up the NBA’s all-time scoring ladder, Kevin Durant would wait before looking at the rearview mirror.  But he’s already looking at the next generation of offensive dynamos within days of surpassing Michael Jordan. In a sitdown with Boardroom, the Houston Rockets veteran is already waiting for the moment he gets pushed out of the top 5 of the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

With 32,294 career points, Durant now sits fifth all-time, behind only LeBron James (43,241), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), and Kobe Bryant (33,643). When asked by the interviewer if a player in 20 years might be “passing KD on the scoring list,” Durant was quick to shorten the timeline. “Something sooner than that. I think Ant [Anthony Edwards], bro,” KD said.

He didn’t stop at the Minnesota Timberwolves’ explosive guard. “There’s a lot of guys on… Luka [Doncic] be on the way. You know, they hitting those marks that I hit at that time. LeBron hit, Kobe hit at those, at that age.”

The numbers back him up. Doncic, 27, has accumulated approximately 14,851 career points in fewer than eight NBA seasons — on pace to eclipse 30,000 before his mid-30s if he maintains his current output.

Edwards, 24, crossed the 10,000-point threshold in January 2026 and currently sits at approximately 10,807 career points, having done so two fewer seasons into his career than Doncic. For context, Durant himself reached 10,000 career points at age 22, and never averaged below 25 points in a season after his rookie year.

Reflecting on the disciplined formula required to reach the league’s stratosphere of scorers, he can see the new generation of players matching it. He believes his own massive career total won’t stand for long. He emphasized that the pursuit is as much about health as it is about skill. “You got to stay healthy. Everything’s got to work,” he noted.

Durant’s generosity of spirit toward the next wave isn’t without precedent. It echoes a moment from around 2013, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—then still the all-time scoring leader—publicly recognized LeBron James as the player with the best shot to one day eclipse his record of 38,387 points.

Kareem highlighted LeBron’s exceptional talent and suggested that, with continued health and longevity, he was capable of breaking the mark that had stood for nearly three decades.

That view proved prophetic: LeBron surpassed Kareem in February 2023. What makes Durant’s comments all the more striking is that he isn’t waiting for someone to ask—he’s volunteering the names himself, with the same quiet confidence Kareem once displayed.

It might sound a little premature for KD to want his record broken only a day after he got there. But to Slim, the game is no longer just about personal accolades, but ensuring he leaves an impact that pushes these younger stars to eclipse him.

“I just hope that moment, especially for them, like it is for me passing the greats that I looked up to or watched when I was younger… I hope I left that impact on the game in that way.”

This switch marks a reflective phase for Durant, who sees these milestones not just as numbers, but as a testament to the sheer endurance required to outlast the ghost of Michael Jordan.

Kevin Durant feels content with Michael Jordan milestone

Moving past Michael Jordan to claim the fifth spot in the all-time scoring list should become a lifelong flex. But it had the opposite effect on Kevin Durant. After accomplishing the milestone, he spoke about his gratitude to His Airness for inspiring him. Clearly, this achievement has put his entire career into perspective.

The milestone is a secondary result of a 19-year obsession with routine. “It’s cool to have these conversations about what I’ve done on the floor, but that’s for everybody else,” Durant admitted on Boardroom. “It speaks to how long I’ve been around and how consistent I’ve been as a player… passing guys is just always cool to be in that same conversation as them more than anything.”

Durant’s climb into the top five is particularly impressive given he missed nearly two full seasons due to an Achilles injury and the pandemic-shortened schedules. While fans often speculate on what-ifs about his missed games, Durant refuses to dwell on the points left on the table.

“It would have been cool to have 200 games back and see how many points I would score… but I’m still here. I’m still around doing what I love to do,” he told the interviewer. Not only did he name Ant and Luka as the future top 5 scorers, but he also cited the legendary durability of Karl Malone and the current unprecedented longevity of LeBron James as his primary inspirations for staying in the lab at age 37.

He might just manifest it in reality. Anthony Edwards recently had a 55-point stunner. Luka Doncic had 44-points against KD and the Rockets, which was followed by a 60-point game against Miami — a performance that made him the first player to score 60 points as a Laker since Kobe Bryant’s farewell game in 2016, and just the second player in NBA history to record at least 60 points, five steals, and nine three-pointers in a single game.

As Edwards and Doncic continue their ascent, they are chasing a bar set by a man who views 32,294 points not as a destination, but as a byproduct of never missing a day at the office.

And much like Kareem before him, Durant seems to understand that the truest measure of a legend isn’t just how high they climbed, but who they inspired to climb higher.