The Los Angeles Clippers guard sank a 3-pointer early in the third quarter against the Charlotte Hornets, bringing his career total to 28,598 points in his 1,187th regular-season game. O’Neal scored 28,596 points over 1,207 games in a 19-year career, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Harden, who started the game 14 points behind O’Neal, finished with 32 points in the Clippers’ 117-109 victory. He scored 13 points in the first half — including 11 in the opening quarter — followed by 11 in the third and eight in the fourth, raising his career total to 28,614 points.
Entering the game, Harden was averaging 25.6 points per game, his highest since the 2019-20 season when he averaged 34.3 points per game and won the last of three consecutive scoring titles.
Harden, now ninth on the all-time scoring list, faces a challenging climb to eighth. Wilt Chamberlain holds that spot with 31,419 points in 1,045 games over 14 seasons. LeBron James remains the all-time leader with 42,601 points, followed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Durant.
In addition to his scoring milestone, Harden recently moved up to 12th on the NBA’s all-time assists list. The 11-time All-Star also ranks second in career 3-pointers made, behind Stephen Curry.
