With a 3-pointer early in the second half of the Clippers’ game against the Hornets on Monday night, James Harden moved his name into extremely rare air.
The basket vaulted the Los Angeles superstar ahead of Shaquille O’Neal for ninth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, and after he and his team wrapped up a 117-109 victory at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., Harden called the feat “a true honor.”
“Shaquille O’Neal, somebody that I literally grew up watching here in L.A.,” Harden said. “Him and Kobe [Bryant] doing their thing, winning multiple championships, the most dominant big man in the history of the game. It’s a true honor, it’s a testament to the work that I put in.”
Harden finished the night with 32 points on 11-of-28 shooting, officially giving him 28,614 points in 1,187 career games played.
O’Neal previously cemented his place on the list after logging 28,596 points in 1,207 career games.
Harden’s coach, Tyronn Lue, played with O’Neal while the two were on the Lakers, and he told reporters after the game his guard’s accomplishment Monday night “says a lot.”
“It says a lot about James and who he is as a player,” Lue said. “Shaq’s the most dominant big to ever play the game and you pass him, that says a lot.
“True testament to his work, his availability — being able to play every night. And if you pass greats like Shaq, you’ve really done something. So that’s something to be proud of.”
Several other basketball legends are now in Harden’s reach on the list, with Wilt Chamberlain and Dirk Nowitzki currently sitting just less than 3,000 points ahead.
