Carmelo Anthony’s climb on the list of NBA legends continued on Saturday night, as he passed the Houston Rockets’ Hakeem Olajuwon on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and moved into 11th on the all-time list.
Anthony scored 26 points for the Portland Trail Blazers during a 125-121 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday to boost his career total to 26,955. He is only 359 points from cracking the top 10 and passing Elvin Hayes.
Anthony has passed a list of NBA royalty on the scoring list this season, including Olajuwon, Tim Duncan and Oscar Robertson.
The only players with more career points than Anthony is a list of the NBA’s best that includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Moses Malone and Hayes.
Remarkably, Anthony continues to score at a high level at 36 years old. He has averaged 21.2 points per game during five games in March, helping Portland win four of them. The Trail Blazers currently are fifth in the Western Conference with a record of 22-15.
For the season, Anthony is averaging 14.1 points per game while shooting 38.8 percent on 3-point shots, his best rate since 2013-14 with the New York Knicks.
Olajuwon is one of the NBA’s all-time two-way players, a dominant force on offense and defense with the Houston Rockets. He won a pair of NBA titles, winning the Finals MVP Award both times, and was both an MVP and Defensive Player of the Year during his career. He led the league in rebounds and blocks multiple times.