A fans perspective

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Records are made to be broken

Friday evening an event of epic proportion occurred, Kevin Durant moved past the legendary Wilt Chamberlain in points scored. Over the course of his career Durant’s never come close to the regular season numbers of Chamberlain however he’s been consistent. Durant is now in 7th place (31,445 and counting) among all NBA career scoring leaders. I certainly didn’t wish to take anything from the accomplishment of Durant but my eyes led me to Moses Malone. His point total is listed as 27,409 and my initial thought, that must include his play in the American Basketball Association. A careful check indicated that was not the case, the numbers above represent the time Malone spent in the NBA.

Then I remember once reading the NBA didn’t include any numbers once expansion took place. If you are curious (as I was) I discovered Malone’s combined point total was 29,580. Malone would remain behind Chamberlain in points scored but exceed Shaquille O’Neal and several others. Back to Durant a moment, his career has proven quite interesting in another aspect. I’m unsure exactly when this occurred, he was required to power lift a weight I don’t remember the figure. In any event he was unable to lift it. At the 2007 Draft Combine Durant checked in at 215 pounds, that is quite skinny for someone 7-feet tall. Contrast that slim number with the Durant of today who is 240 pounds. Congratulations Kevin Durant, the next stop for you is the Naismith Hall of Fame.

The top pick 

I know what you are going to say, “Why are you checking NBA mock draft sites so far in advance, we are yet to play 10 college games.” This is done for a specific reason, to see the movement up or down for the Top 10 prospects. Let’s check a couple of sources on November 23, forward AJ Dybantsa of BYU is at the top of the list for nbadraft.net. As for nbadraftroom.com they place shooting guard Darryn Peterson from Kansas number one. Darryn Peterson is also number one for tankathon.com/mock, while bleachereport.com also places Peterson at the top of their mock draft.

Based on the NBA mock sites checked we might conclude Peterson would be the top pick in 2026 but I wouldn’t necessarily believe that holds true for the balance of the season leading up to the draft. Last year the Dallas Mavs Cooper Flagg held onto the top position in all the mock sites from October through the June draft. Two years ago it was the same for Victor Wembanyama leading up to his selection by the San Antonio Spurs, it seems to me last season was different. Most of the 2024-25 season the mocks had Zaccharie Risacher or Alex Sarr alternating most of the season, of course Risacher nor Sarr were named NBA Rookie of the Year. The rookie of the year honor went to Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs.

19

We are nearly there, close to the anniversary of the second highest individual point total scored in NBA history. It was January 22, 2006, that was the night Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. Dissecting the box score there were 28 baskets from 46 attempts (60.9%) from the floor with 7 for 13 from three (53.8%). At the free-throw line Kobe was 18 for 20, get this 55 of his point total came in the second half of the game. The balance of the box score read in 42 minutes he also had 6 rebounds 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.

The question might be asked, “who was ‘watching him’ that evening” based on his scoring binge? I’m sure the entire Raptors team at a point, despite this fact when you are in a zone it’s difficult to stop or even hinder an opposing player. Kobe Bryant had one advantage over Wilt Chamberlain…video evidence. Mostly everyone from the Wilt time period is no longer living except for Tom Meschery who was a teammate of Wilt. He’s 87 years old now but probably has a vested interest in maintaining the myth of Wilt’s 100 point game. I have come to a simple conclusion, you witnessed Kobe’s 81 point game. Why couldn’t Wilt have scored 19 additional points in his game against the Knicks? Let’s check single game high scorers in history:

Wilt Chamberlain 100 pts

Kobe Bryant 81 pts

Wilt Chamberlain 78 pts

Luka Doncic 73 pts

David Thompson 73 pts

Wilt Chamberlain 73 pts

Starter minutes

This isn’t intended to disparage Los Angeles Laker reserve center Jaxson Hayes, it’s only an explanation. Last season after Anthony Davis was traded to the Mavs Hayes moved from a backup role at center to a starters role. It wasn’t Hayes along however he played rather well until. Once the playoffs began he found himself overmatched, in a number of games he was missing from the starting lineup all together. In July, despite concerns about his past performance, the Lakers signed Deandre Ayton to a two-year deal—this is where we begin.

It’s likely since elementary school most playing basketball have been in the role of a starter, nobody wants to sit on the bench and play a reserve role. Once we reach the NBA a number believe they should be playing starter minutes, the only problem it’s a talent issue. Hayes and others can still play, but limited talent often shifts them from starters to reserves once they reach the NBA. Despite what might appear to be a negative is a positive for many, over the history several players experienced sterling careers and actually preferred the role over starting. The Bad Boy Pistons had Vinnie ‘Microwave’ Johnson emerge from the bench and aid the cause for the Pistons. The Showtime Lakers had Michael Cooper who was a defensive dynamo, he’s in the Naismith Hall of Fame to illustrate his contribution to those championship Laker teams. Robert Horry was nicknamed ‘Big Shot’ Rob due to his timely shooting as a reserve for a number of NBA teams including my Lakers.

Former Celtic great Kevin McHale actually was a 6th man for the Celtics prior to his move into the starting lineup. Just a few names in today’s NBA, Payton Pritchard of the Celtics, Alex Caruso Thunder guard along with Gary Trent Jr. and Bobby Portis valued Bucks reserves. In conclusion everyone probably wants to play starter minutes, everyone is not talented enough offensively or defensively enough to play major minutes. Reserve players, especially in the NBA, serve a valuable role. A coach once said; “It’s more important who is on the court at the end of the game over the beginning.”