Kevin Durant divides opinion with bold Michael Jordan-LeBron James retirement comment

Mar 18, 2026 - 18:45

Kevin Durant has never been afraid to speak his mind.

Whether it’s clashing with courtside fans, or trolling his 20 million followers on social media, the 16-time NBA All-Star always has something to say.

Kevin Durant of the Houston Rockets looks on during the first half of the basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center on February 19, 2026 — Durant has stoked the flames with a controversial MJ-LeBron take

His latest take on Michael Jordan and LeBron James, unsurprisingly, has made plenty of waves.

This season, KD is climbing up the all-time scoring chart.

He put up 18 points in a tight 100-92 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, to take his career total to 32,224.

That number sees him sixth on the all-time scoring list, behind the great Michael Jordan, who occupies the fifth spot.

Durant, who has recently launched a NIL partnership to support the Texas Longhorns, needs just 68 points to leapfrog the NBA icon, and will almost certainly hit that mark in the coming days.

But as he closes in on a top-five spot, Durant suggested Jordan had the scoring pace to stand alongside LeBron James in basketball’s 40,000-point club.

Few can say they have bettered MJ at anything basketball related, but the Houston Rockets star believes things could have been very different for the GOAT.

Kevin Durant shares controversial MJ-LeBron take

He vehemently believes that MJ would have surpassed 40,000 points if his second season wasn’t limited by a foot injury, if he hadn’t retired after both of the Chicago Bull’s three-peats (1991 to 1993 and 1996 to 1998) or if he’d tried to play on for a couple more years with the Washington Wizards.

Speaking to The Ringer, Durant argued: “He could’ve played past 40.

“I would say MJ took off four to five years combined. You give him 300 more games of 30 points a night.

Michael Jordan, of the Chicago Bulls, during the NBA match between the Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks — KD believes Jordan would have over 40,000 pts if he didn’t step away from the court

“That’s not an exaggeration. That’s what he averaged, 30!”

Durant also pointed directly to MJ’s time away from the court as the reason he’s been overtaken by LeBron (43180 points) and why he sits behind three other legends: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38387 points), Karl Malone (36928 points), and Kobe Bryant (33643).

“MJ took time off,” he added.

“It’s times where he was like, ‘I’m sick of the game. I want to take time off and regroup and come back into the game.’ And that’s what he did. Bron, he played straight through.”

Kevin Durant’s MJ-LeBron claim splits fan opinion

KD’s logic, by all accounts, is sound. And plenty of NBA fans agreed with his suggestion.

“If MJ never retired, 40K would’ve been light work,” one fan claimed.

Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls (L) eyes the basket as he is guarded by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers — Durant’s bold MJ-LeBron take split fan opinion

Another said: “300 more games at 30 ppg? Yeah, that math checks out.”

“MJ left nearly five prime years on the table and still got six rings and 10 scoring titles. If he stays on the court, LeBron isn’t chasing a record — he’s chasing a ghost,” a third suggested.

“Imagine if Bron took 4-5 years off mid-career. Numbers would look VERY different,” a fourth concluded.

Others, though, believe Durant’s argument is flawed.

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“He wouldn’t have maintained a 30ppg average if he didn’t retire twice,” one said of MJ.

“Not how that works, MJ was barely averaging 20 at 39, but go off,” a second said.

“We’re not playing the would’ve, could’ve, should’ve game! There’s a reason he couldn’t. His body wouldn’t hold up and he retired twice,” a third claimed.

“It’s always ‘would’ve, could’ve, should’ve.’ If LeBron wasn’t such a team player and took as many shots as he should have, he would have averaged 35 a game. He was unstoppable when he wanted to be! He chose to play the game his own way and not turn into a shoot-first player like people wanted,” a fourth said.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers smiles towards the Dallas Mavericks bench in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on February 12, 2026 — Some fans argued MJ would have never matched LeBron’s relentless shooting

Durant is moving up the scoring charts himself, and will leapfrog MJ in a few days time.

But like everybody else, he has no chance of catching LeBron when it comes to putting up points.

KD’s latest comments, though, stoke the flames of a seemingly never-ending debate over two of the NBA’s greatest ever.

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