Los Angeles Clippers star guard James Harden made some major NBA history against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
With his point production against Minnesota, Harden passed Hall-of-Famer Carmelo Anthony to move into the top 10 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Anthony scored 28,289 points over the course of his illustrious career. Harden has now scored 28,303 points and counting.
Now, these are the only players who have scored more points than Harden in the NBA: LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain, Kevin Durant and Shaquille O’Neal. All legends.
“History. Top 10. All-Time. James Harden.”
The free-throw that moved James Harden into 10th on the all-time scoring list 🔥
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— NBA (@NBA) December 7, 2025
After the game against Minnesota, Harden reflected on the accomplishment, and all of the work it took for him to achieve it.
“Blessing. A testament to the work I’ve put in,” Harden said. “It’s an honor, especially with somebody like Melo, who’s done so much greatness for this league.”
Prior to officially cracking the top 10, Harden marveled at the names he would be mentioned alongside.
“You look at that list, it’s like there’s no way,” Harden said. “There’s no way I got an opportunity to be a part of this list. It’s just literally like a dream come true. The work that I literally put in is coming to fruition. There’s so many things that this game has done for me, and I’m sure for all those guys as well.
“And those names are still being talked about post basketball.”
Durant, Harden’s former teammate in both Brooklyn and Oklahoma City, recently became just the eighth player in league history to hit the 31,000-point plateau. Harden could potentially become the next player to join that exclusive club if he continues to play for a couple more years.
Before that though, Harden is poised to pass Shaq on the all-time scoring list. O’Neal scored 28,596 career points, so Harden now needs just 294 points to pass him. That should happen later this season.
