Clippers guard passes Carmelo Anthony with 34-point night and closes in on Shaquille O’Neal
James Harden has entered truly elite company, passing Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony to move into 10th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list during the LA Clippers’ 109-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 17-year veteran finished with a game-high 34 points, pushing his career total to 28,303 and moving beyond Anthony’s 28,289; he now sits just over 300 points behind Shaquille O’Neal for ninth as he continues to climb the historical leaderboard.
The milestone fittingly came from the free-throw line in the third quarter, with Harden drawing contact from Jaylen Clark and calmly knocking down both shots to vault past his former Houston Rockets teammate. It was another reminder of the scoring profile that defined his prime years: a blend of self-created step-back threes, relentless drives and a rare knack for manufacturing trips to the stripe that helped him secure three straight scoring titles from 2018 to 2020 and the 2018 MVP award. Across 10 seasons in Houston, he piled up more than 18,000 of his points and set the Rockets’ single-game scoring record with 61, trailing only Hakeem Olajuwon in franchise total points.
Harden’s journey to the top 10 has been built on adaptability as much as volume. Drafted third overall by Oklahoma City in 2009, he started as a Sixth Man of the Year-winning bench scorer before evolving into a heliocentric offensive engine in Houston, then into more of a playmaking hub in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, where he averaged double-digit assists for three consecutive seasons. Last year he joined Stephen Curry as the only players in NBA history to reach 3,000 made three-pointers, underscoring his dual legacy as both a prolific scorer and one of the game’s most impactful perimeter shot-makers.
This latest achievement comes in a turbulent Clippers season. With Kawhi Leonard missing much of November, Bradley Beal lost for the year after just six games and Chris Paul released, Harden has been asked to carry a heavier load again, responding with 26.5 points per game, his highest average since 2019-20, and a franchise-record 55-point outing in Charlotte. Even so, LA’s 6-18 record highlights the disconnect between his individual production and the team’s results, underlined by the squandered 18-point lead in Minnesota that ended with Harden missing a potential tying three at the buzzer.
Reflecting on his place alongside names like LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant, Harden has described breaking into the top 10 as “a blessing” and “a dream come true” for a 6-foot-5 guard who never matched the size or athleticism of many of his peers on the list. Growing up in Southern California, he modelled his game on stars such as Bryant and Shaq; now, as the No. 2 all-time three-point shooter and a top-10 scorer, he has ensured that his own name will be part of the league’s record-book conversations long after his playing days are over.
