James Harden is getting real as he passes Shaq on the NBA’s all-time scoring list

ByNBAUSA



INGLEWOOD, Calif. – James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers they continued their strong play on Monday night, defeating Charlotte Hornets who had won three of their previous five games, including a win against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

The night started with Harden’s 11 points in the first quarter, making him fair four points away from passing Shaquille O’Neal for ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Harden struggled in the second quarter, finishing with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting, but reached a turning point when he scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the third quarter.

Harden finished the game with 32 points, four rebounds, 10 assists and four steals, marking the 109th time in his NBA career that he has recorded 30+ points and 10+ assists. After the game, the Clippers star discussed passing Shaq on the all-time scoring list.

“It’s definitely special just because you grew up watching these players,” Harden said after the Clippers won 117-109. “Some you’ve played against, some you’ve watched as a youngster, so it’s definitely special. Shaq is someone I watched as a hometown kid in LA, watching him, Kobe and the Lakers do some special things here for the city. He’s the most dominant center of all time, so it’s definitely an honor and it’s special.”

James Harden, who grew up in Los Angeles and went to high school in Artesia, grew up watching Los Angeles Lakers won three NBA championships led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal in the early 2000s. The Clippers’ back was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the third pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and went on to have a stellar 17-year NBA career that saw him play 1,187 regular season games and 173 playoff games.

At 36, James Harden is tied for the NBA’s sixth-oldest player, with the likes of LeBron James (41), Kevin Durant (37), Stephen Curry (37) and Russell Westbrook (37) alongside him.

In the Clippers’ win over the Hornets, Harden also added a game-high 30 points and 10 assists, the 109th of his career. That’s second in NBA history behind only Oscar Robertson, who had 227 in his career.

Does that particular statistic mean anything to him?

“Yeah! I worked my ass off,” Harden replied. “I felt like I was working hard. You don’t understand how hard it is to work and then the longevity of it. There’s not many guys who understand and know that. A few of them are still playing at a high level, which is nice to see. And for young guys to understand, the NBA and basketball, you have to really appreciate that because we can never open that in different places. doors, built relationships with people we never thought we’d meet.

“You see guys like LeBron (James), Stepheb (Curry), (Kevin Durant) and Russell (Westbrook) doing their thing at the highest level, still, at our age. It’s a beautiful thing to see. It’s a testament to those guys and the work we’ve put in to still be doing it this long.”

Trailing James Harden — with 28,614 career points — on the all-time scoring list is Wilt Chamberlain, who is eighth with 31,419 career points. The only active players ahead of the Clippers star on the all-time scoring list are Kevin Durant (31,486) and LeBron James (42,654).





2026-01-14 10:28:00

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