Kevin Durant beats Michael Jordan’s record

Kevin Durant surpassed Michael Jordan’s feat of scoring 25 points in 17 straight games to start a season…and now he’s chasing Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, and Wilt Chamberlain.

On the night that saw Kyrie Irving return from a Nets-imposed suspension, Kevin Durant decided it was the right time to enter the Association’s history books by dumping her Airness.

There are at least two things in that previous sentence that raise the question. First, when isn’t it a good time for Durant to drop a bucket or a dozen? And second, did Durant really get into any actual history books?

The answer to the first question is simple: No, there has never been, and never will be, a moment in which Durant does not find joy in bonfires.

The answer to the second question: yes and no. Durant has now scored 25 or more points in 17 straight games to start the season. Michael Jordan played 16 such games in the 1988-89 season, up from 13 consecutive games a year earlier in the 1987 winter/fall season.

Durant may have outdone Michael Jordan, but that has only allowed him to claim the top spot among players of the “modern” era. Even then, and despite not being widely publicized by the media, Durant’s 17-game streak served him only Necktie Bradley Bell like that line In the 2020-21 season.

Three Men and Four Seasons remains the all-time leader:

  • Elgin Baylor: 22 games, 1961-62
  • Rick Barry: 25 games, 1966-67
  • Wilt Chamberlain: 26 games, 1962-63
  • Wilt Chamberlain: 80 games, 1961-62

The above is definitely not a typo, folks.

Durant may be one game away from becoming the Ultimate Modern-Era Human Streaker but when it comes to actual basketball players, Wilt’s 80 games seem untouchable at the same time, very the least.

This feat is a sure golden letter achievement for Kevin Durant, so it’s time to celebrate. Digging a little more into the historical numbers that allowed Durant to get to this point, the results are really impressive.

In Search of Durant’s True Uniqueness (durability?), streaks can be limited to just the first 17 games of any season someone has played in L.A. history.

The first thing that comes up in this research is an interesting one: Bradley Bell didn’t truly The completion hit 17 in the first 17 actual games of the season. He scored more than 25 points in nine straight games, then missed one game against Miami, and finally proceeded to throw away at least 26 points in the next eight games the Wiz played to cap it all off with a 32-point haul in Miami on February 5th.

Durant 1-0 Bill. Sorry Brad.

There is no shortage of talent in the group of players that Durant joined on Sunday

With that analysis going, Mike can be added to the group of five players who have already reached 17 games (instead of 16) where he scores over 25 points just for comparison to the true greatness of streaking. Here are some interesting gold nuggets from this query:

  • Kevin Durant has reached the streak of 17 games with the fewest points (516) among those in this group. This includes Jordan (583) although he played one less game to reach his career tally of 16.
  • Durant was the third-best kicker with a field goal percentage of just 53.1% behind Wilt’s 53.7% and Jordan’s 58%.
  • Jordan shot better percentages from behind the arc (34.8 percent) than Durant (33.3 percent) albeit with much less volume (23 3PA to Durant’s 75).
  • Durant scored the second fewest points from the free throw line with 145. Jordan finished his run at 125. Rick Barry led the way with 187 free throws.
  • Durant was tough from the charity bar: He made 91.8 percent of the shots he took while no other top six player topped 82.8 percent (and that was Jordan).
  • Not only did Durant drop points in sets, but he also made the most assists (90) among players in the world with 17 games followed by Rick Barry at 71. MJ assisted 95 baskets in 16 games.
  • Durant outsprinted Jordan 30 to 21, though he lost the stealing fight by a score of 14 to 55.

Honestly, choose poison. It is impossible to come up with a single winner.

Durant made history (the modern game) by breaking Jordan’s 16-game record after putting 26 games on the scoreboard last Sunday, and Getting to this point was definitely not easy. He can still continue to add to his tally and he will have that opportunity tomorrow when the Nets visit Philadelphia for a very sleazy game between Ben Simmons and his former team.

Be sure to set history and watch it being made.



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