James Harden reaches new heights
James Harden has climbed to ninth place on the list of NBA's top scorers, surpassing legendary Shaquille O'Neal, in a game against the Charlotte Hornets. The match ended with a score of 117-109 in favor of Harden and his team. In this game, Harden scored 32 points, making an important contribution to his career total.
Before the game, Harden had 28,582 career points. To reach ninth place, he needed to score 15 points. He accomplished this task, achieving 28,596 points with a three-pointer at the start of the third quarter. After the game, Harden's total increased to 28,614 points, and it took him 1,187 matches to achieve this figure.
Chances of reaching new records
Currently, Wilt Chamberlain holds the eighth position among the NBA's top scorers with 31,419 points. Harden needs to score about 2,800 more points to catch up with Chamberlain. In the current 2025/26 season, Harden is averaging 25.6 points per game, indicating his consistent performance on the court.
This game marked another achievement in the NBA world. Cooper Flagg became the first 18-year-old player in the league's history to score 40 or more points in a game, surpassing LeBron James's achievement, who had 37 points at 18. Such events highlight the development of young talented players in the NBA, but Harden continues to remain among the best in this league.
These achievements testify to the dynamic development of the NBA, where experienced players like James Harden continue to set new records while young talents like Cooper Flagg show impressive results.
Considering that Harden has consistent performance, his chances of further climbing the scoring rankings remain high, which could significantly change the history of the league in the coming seasons.