Dirk Nowitzki’s message to Kevin Durant for passing him on the scoring list

Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant has added another milestone to his decorated career on Sunday, passing the former Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki to take sixth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Durant needed 17 points to lead the Rockets to a 119-110 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans, and he scored with 15.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter by sinking a key free throw to give him 31,561 career points, just ahead of Nowitzki’s 31,560.

“I’m not really happy he passed me,” Nowitzki joked, before showering Durant with praise in a video message. “Seriously, to me, he’s one of the purest, sweetest shooters the game has ever seen. I think he’s a seven-footer with a really two-guard game, shots, off-the-dribble stuff, off-balance stuff, I don’t think there’s really anything you can do to stop him one-on-one, he can always get a great shot, that’s how good he is, how good he is, how good he’s been. It’s been amazing to watch his career. Congratulations, go ahead.

“One of the cleanest, smoothest shooters the game has ever seen.”

Dirk Nowitzki congratulates Kevin Durant for passing him into sixth place on the all-time scoring list 👏

(via @HoustonRockets)pic.twitter.com/2nCbl0nSPu https://t.co/KsoiVse2rv6

— NBA (@NBA) January 19, 2026

Durant now trails only basketball players on the all-time scoring list: LeBron James (42,703), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643) and Michael Jordan (32,292). With 731 points to go before Jordan, Durant is on pace to reach that milestone in the next 30 games at his current average.

The 37-year-old is in his 18th NBA season and continues to perform at an outstanding level. On Sunday, he finished the match with 18 points, six rebounds, eight assists and a steal. Durant is averaging 26.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists on 51.0 percent shooting, including 39.3 percent from three, in 38 games this season.

The win also gave Houston redemption after last season’s collapse against New Orleans in which they blew a 25-point lead. The Rockets improved to 14-3 at home and 25-15 overall on the season behind a strong performance from Jabari Smith Jr., who scored a game-high 32 points on 7-of-13 three-point shooting with eight rebounds and one block. Houston outplayed the Pelicans 47-39, and Steven Adams led the way with 10 rebounds.

Next, the Rockets will face the San Antonio Spurs in a highly anticipated Western Conference matchup on Tuesday.