James Harden is one of the greatest scorers in NBA history, and he's done it his way.
Harden's game, from his days with the Thunder and Rockets to now with the Clippers, has always irked certain purists. It's a steady diet of stepback 3-pointers and whirling forays into the lane to get to the foul line.
But you can't question its effectiveness. Harden has now scored the ninth-most points in NBA history.
He moved into that spot on Monday night, passing Shaquille O'Neal to claim the spot.
Harden has now scored 28,614 points.
Shaq ended his career at 28,596.
Harden surpassed the big fella with a smooth pull-up 3 against the Hornets.
Harden passed Shaq for 9th on the all-time scoring list with this bucket 🔥
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 13, 2026
Congrats to The Beard 👏 pic.twitter.com/gTjRL812cD
MORE: Steph Curry broke another Michael Jordan all-time NBA record
One other aspect of this that is trending on social media on Tuesday is that Harden is one of three former Oklahoma City Thunder players in the top-15.
Kevin Durant just passed Wilt Chamberlain to move to seventh all-time. Russell Westbrook is 15th and closing fast on Hakeem Olajuwon.
That trio was teammates once on a team everyone assumed would win multiple titles but instead never won a single one before they broke up.
Now, they're three of the greatest to ever do it.
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