Kevin Durant sets NBA record we kind of just made up
For the 145th straight game on Monday night, Kevin Durant scored more points than he took field goal attempts.
More points than shots, basically. It doesn't mean a lot for a single outing, but it's a rough means of judging a player's scoring efficiency for a game. Durant dropped 31 on the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, shooting 11-of-21 from the field.
Again, it's the 145th straight game that Durant has averaged at least a point per shot. The last time he failed to do so was March 29, 2012, when he scored 21 points on 22 field goal attempts against the Los Angeles Lakers.
If that seems like a really long time to go without a single cold shooting night, that's because it is. In fact, going back to 1985-86 when Basketball Reference's Play Index database begins, it is the longest such streak ever, passing a 144-game streak from Shaquille O'Neal that ended in March of 1996.
| Longest More Points Than Shots Streaks | End Date | Streak |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | Active | 145 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 3/17/1996 | 144 |
| Charles Barkley | 3/19/1988 | 133 |
| Karl Malone | 1/12/1998 | 126 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5/5/1999 | 120 |
| Reggie Miller | 1/21/1991 | 103 |
| Karl Malone | 11/15/1995 | 101 |
| LeBron James | 2/4/2011 | 91 |
| Brad Daugherty | 11/9/1993 | 90 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 1/12/2003 | 81 |
As explained ad nauseum below, it's mostly nothing, but it's something. In short, it shows just how ridiculously consistent and efficient Durant is, game-in, game-out.
Here are some fun facts about Durant's 145-game stretch:
- He has scored 50 points twice, 40 points 14 times, and 30 points 68 times. He has scored fewer than 20 points on just 15 occasions.
- The Thunder have gone 106-39 in these games.
- Durant has averaged 29.3 points on 50.7 percent shooting from the field, 41.5 percent shooting on threes, and 89.6 percent shooting from the line.
- He's also averaged 7.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists during the streak.