Kevin Durant’s ranking on the NBA career points list at the end of the 2023-24 season.
The Phoenix Suns made headlines in the NBA and Arizona betting scene last season with a blockbuster trade that brought former league MVP Kevin Durant to the team. The deal also involved sending young players Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges to the Brooklyn Nets.
Although the midseason deal did not produce the immediate results sought by team owner Mat Ishbia, the Phoenix Suns were defeated by the eventual NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets, in the second round of the playoffs. Nonetheless, there is a newfound sense of hope that 2024 could be the year the Suns make a mark in Arizona’s NBA betting landscape.
Durant, a 35-year-old from Maryland, is optimistic about his first complete season in the Valley. He hopes to build on the improvements he made last year while healthy, scoring an average of 26 points per game with a shooting percentage of 53.7%. Additionally, he raised his career point total to 26,892 points.
As the 2023-24 NBA regular season gets underway, Durant currently holds the 13th spot on the all-time scoring list. He is behind Hakeem Olajuwon by 54 points (26,946) and Elvin Hayes by 421 points (27,313).
Yengols.com analyzed the odds of where Durant will rank by the end of the year in his pursuit to become one of the NBA’s all-time leading scorers before the Suns’ first game of the regular season against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Chances of Durant reaching a career high in points by the end of the upcoming season.
Will Durant be able to catch up to Shaq in 2023-24?
At the start of the year, Durant trails The Big Diesel by 1,704 points on the NBA’s scoring list. In order to catch up, he would have to maintain an average of approximately 20.8 points per game over a complete 82-game season. Unfortunately, Durant has not played in 80 games or more since the 2013-14 season, when he started 81 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder. It appears improbable that Durant will complete a full 82-game season this year, much to the surprise of platforms such as the BetMGM Arizona app.
Since then, he has maintained an average of 55.5 games per season. If Durant continues this trend with the Suns this year, he would need to score an average of 30.7 points per game to reach Shaq’s career point total. Our odds board indicates that Durant has a 36.4% chance of surpassing Moses Malone’s 27,409 points, a 53.4% chance of surpassing Carmelo Anthony’s 28,289 points, and a 6.2% chance of reaching Shaq’s total this season.
At this time, Caesars Sportsbook Arizona oddsmakers have placed Durant and the Suns as the fourth top contender to win the title, with odds of +600. They trail behind the Boston Celtics (+380), Milwaukee Bucks (+400), and Denver Nuggets (+420) in the league hierarchy.
Author
Peterson Christopher, with over seven years of experience covering sports and sports betting in Arizona, has recently assumed the position of lead writer at yengols.com. He has held previous roles at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News.
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