Kevin Durant's career reached a new pinnacle on Sunday, January 18, as he rose to sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, stepping past Dirk Nowitzki, one of the players he once grew up watching.
Kevin Durant's great gesture
It was one of the rarest moments, yet Durant somehow managed it with pure grace.
The Slim Reaper offered his respects to the NBA icons in a video montage posted by the Houston Rockets on X (Formerly known as Twitter).
"Making history look routine," the Rockets captioned the post.
Durant narrated the montage himself, instead of taking the limelight, he used it to reflect on the players who shaped the league before him.
"You look at so many players that accomplished a lot in this league," KD said. "The guys that are around me on that list are a lot of players that I have watched over the years, studied, and tried to get to know more as individuals and as players.
"And understand why they are so great. They set a blueprint and a standard. I'm just trying to reach it."
Kevin Durant aims for Michael Jordan's tally next
Durant reached the milestone in a disappointing game against the New Orleans Pelicans. After a 18-point outing, Durant quietly edged past Nowitzki in 361 lesser games, His total now sits at 31,562, just 730 shy of Michael Jordan.
Kevin Durant pays tribute to Dirk Nowitzki after surpassing him
Following Houston's 119-110 win against the New Orleans, Durant talked with the media, except to discuss the win. Instead, much of the attention turned to his place in history.
Rather than deflect, he used the moment to speak up regarding Nowitzki and the duels they once shared.
"We've had some meaningful battles," Durant said. "I always said I wanted to be that respected. I wanted to be that revered by my teammates, by a city, by the media, by everybody who watches the game. I felt like Dirk was the embodiment of that."
Nowitzki, in turn, returned the respect, labelling Durant one of the "purest" scorers the game has ever witnessed, a fitting exchange between two stars whose legacies are now forever linked on the sport's most storied list.