LeBron James passed Michael Jordan for fourth on the all-time scoring list on Wednesday. While that feat is nothing to scoff at, here are five milestones to keep an eye out for in the final weeks of the NBA season:
Kevin Durant — Career 30-point games
Durant’s next game with 30 or more points will be his 300th. He would be the 14th NBA player to reach the milestone and the fifth-youngest player to hit the mark if he does it within the next three weeks (which seems likely).
Dirk Nowitzki — Career points
Nowitzki (31,364) needs 56 points to pass Wilt Chamberlain for the fifth-most all time and one more game played to pass John Stockton for the third-most all time.
The German seven-footer will pass Stockton if he takes the floor on Friday, March 8 against the Bulls. If he continues his scoring pace of 5.4 points per game, Nowitzki should pass Chamberlain on the scoring list on Thursday, March 28 on the road against the Heat.
Chris Paul — Career assists
Paul (9,050) needs only 12 assists to pass Isiah Thomas for the seventh most all time. He’s averaging 8.3 per game, so expect him to move past Thomas on Sunday, March 10 on the road against the Mavericks — that is if he does not have a vintage performance on Friday, March 8 at home against the 76ers.
James Harden — Career triple-doubles
Harden (41) needs three triple-doubles to pass Fat Lever for the eighth most in league history.
However, Harden will never pass Lever for the best name in NBA history.
Larry Bird would be Harden’s next target at 59 career triple-doubles.
Russell Westbrook — Career triple-doubles
Westbrook (129) needs 10 more triple-doubles to pass Magic Johnson for the second most in league history.
Oklahoma City has 18 games left in the regular season, but let’s remember what Westbrook has accomplished since the beginning of the 2016-17 season. He's made Johnson’s number reachable this season and Oscar Robertson’s league record of 181 firmly in play next season.
