Austin Rivers had a unique take on the difference between LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Former NBA Star Takes Unexpected Stance Between LeBron James, Kevin Durant originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
LeBron James has the most points in NBA history by a player and will still rack up more. After surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record on February 7, 2023, James has only further separated himself from the pack. Before the 2025-26 season starts, James has scored 42,184 points in total (h/t ESPN).
One player who is far behind James but has more points scored than most players in NBA history is Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant. 18 years into his NBA career, he has 30,571 points. The only players between James and Durant are Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Wilt Chamberlain.
James has more points than Durant to some extent because he has played in four more seasons than Durant has. James entered the league in 2003, while Durant came into the league in 2007. Both still impressively play at a high level despite being two of the oldest players in the NBA.
Even though James has more points than Durant does, and may finish with more points than Durant when they both retire, former NBA player Austin Rivers believes Durant is the better scorer between the two. During his appearance on "The Ringer NBA Show," Rivers first explained why he's so impressed by James.
"LeBron is number one [in scoring], but his game doesn’t match a prototypical scorer," Rivers said. It’s also not sexy. LeBron’s game is built on force, sheer will, dedication, his mind, his IQ, the way he is able to dissect and control a game, and power, above anything else. He wills himself to the basket. Now, you have to give the guy credit. As he’s gotten older, he’s become a better jumpshooter. It’s crazy that he’s going to retire the best jumpshooter he’s ever been."
Rivers then explained why he sees Durant as the better scorer.
"LeBron has scored more points than Kevin, but Kevin can score in a much bigger variety of ways than LeBron," Rivers said. "You can argue with the wall, but that’s just the truth. LeBron doesn’t have half the offensive bag that Kevin has."
LeBron James Has Kevin Durant Beat in Multiple Categories
Besides scoring more points than Durant, James has the fourth most assists among players in NBA history, the sixth most steals, and the 25th most rebounds. Whether Durant is the better scorer than James or not, it's clear from what James has accomplished that he is the better all-around player.
However, putting all that aside, it should be appreciated how fantastic these two were at their peak and how good they still are this late into their NBA careers, no matter how they compare.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
