HOUSTON (AP) — When Kevin Durant began his NBA career he looked at some of the league's greats as the standard that he hoped to one day reach.
On Friday night against the Phoenix Suns he continued to etch him name among those greats when he joined one of the NBA's elite groups by becoming the eighth player in league history to reach 31,000 career points.
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Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant celebrates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) celebrates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant celebrates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) controls the ball against Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) controls the ball against Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
“As you’re coming up into the league you look at these guys as heroes and put them on pedestals, and you look at their accomplishments as sometimes unreachable,” he said. “But then you get on that road to do your thing … and since 2009, 2008 I’ve been focused on being the best player I can be. And they set a standard for each player when they left the league and I try to live up to that standard.”
The 15-time All-Star entered the game needing just four points to reach the mark. He made two free throws for his first points of the night before accomplishing it on a jump shot midway through the first quarter.
They played a highlight reel of Durant on the video board in the arena and posted a graphic congratulating him on reaching 31,000 points during a timeout in the second quarter. When the camera flashed to him on the bench as the crowd applauded, he was too busy talking to a teammate about the game to notice.
The 37-year-old Durant did it in his 1,141st career game, tying the NBA’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James for doing it in the third-fewest games behind Michael Jordan (1,011) and Wilt Chamberlain (1,015).
The other players to have scored at least 31,000 points are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki.
“I didn’t look at them as something that was out of my realm,” Durant said. “I just felt like, if I locked in and did what I did, I could be mentioned in the same breath as those guys. So that’s the confidence I had, but I knew it was going to be a tough journey.”
Durant, the second overall pick in the 2007 draft, is in his first season with the Rockets after this summer's blockbuster trade from Phoenix.
Houston coach Ime Udoka, who played against Durant in his rookie season, reflected on his career and how he hasn't slowed down.
“He’s learned to adapt, adjust and he’s seen everything and to be able to do this with the longevity at this high level is incredible,” Udoka said.
And Udoka expects this to be one of many more milestones that Durant will accomplish before his storied career ends.
“He’s got a long way to go,” Udoka said. “He’ll pass a few more guys and get a few more thousand — so no biggie there.”
Now that Durant has reached the 31,000-point mark, he's also looking ahead to moving up the list of the NBA's all-time leading scorers. Next up is Chamberlain with 31,419 points.
“I’ve got more to do but I’m grateful to still be playing and hopefully I keep doing this and keep moving up the charts,” Durant said.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant celebrates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) celebrates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant celebrates during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) controls the ball against Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) controls the ball against Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Houston, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.
The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.
But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”
U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.
The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.
Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.
Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.
Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.
Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”
Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
