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James Harden rose to ninth place in the rankings. NBA all-time scoring list Monday night, surpassing Shaquille O’Neal in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 117-109 victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
The milestone came early in the third quarter when Harden scored a three-pointer to bring his career total to 28,598 points, surpassing O’Neal’s mark of 28,596.
Harden reached that number in his 1,187th regular-season game, 20 fewer than O’Neal needed in a 19-year career.
“Shaquille O’Neal, someone I literally grew up watching here in Los Angeles,” Harden said afterward. “Him and Kobe doing their thing, winning multiple championships, the most dominant big man in the history of the game. It’s a real honor, it’s a testament to the work I’ve done.”
Harden started the night 14 points behind O’Neal and finished with 32 points and 10 assists. He scored 13 points in the first half, including 11 in the first quarter, before adding 11 more in the third and eight in the fourth to bring his career total to 28,614 at the final buzzer.
The 34-year-old has enjoyed a resurgence this season, entering the game averaging 25.6 points per game, his highest scoring average since the 2019-20 campaign when he posted 34.3 points per game and won the last of three straight titles.
He entered the night with 28,582 career points in his 17th NBA season.
Harden now faces a significant gap to climb higher on the list. Wilt Chamberlain ranks eighth with 31,419 points, earned in just 1,045 games over 14 seasons. At the top, LeBron James leads the way with 42,601 points heading into Monday’s game for the Los Angeles Lakers, followed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant.
In addition to his scoring exploits, Harden continues to rank among the most productive playmakers and shooters in the league.
He recently moved into 12th place on the NBA’s all-time assists list with 8,604 and is second in three-pointers made with 3,291, behind Stephen Curry.
