James Harden is one of the best scorers in the NBA right now and in the eyes of some fans, he has the potential to become the greatest scorer of all-time. It remains to be seen whether or not this will be the case although, over the past few seasons, he has certainly made an interesting case for himself. Last night, Harden was able to etch himself deeper into the history books, after scoring 24 points in a win against the Detroit Pistons.
With the performance, Harden passed Larry Bird for 34th on the all-time NBA scorers list. While 34th may not seem like a big deal, passing a player like Larry Bird is huge and as it stands, some other big names aren't very far away. These names include Gary Payton and Clyde Drexler.
Harden's career total sits at 21,792 points and at 31 years old, he still has plenty of time to get into the top 10. For instance, Carmelo Anthony recently made it up to 11th all-time, and he is only 5,000 points ahead of Harden. With this in mind, it shouldn't be too difficult for Harden to reach the upper echelon if he keeps up his production.
Harden and the Nets continue to show they are a great pairing and the superstar scorer seemingly has a chance to make it to the NBA Finals this year. If he wins a title, his legacy will only get that much better.