There's no doubt that Russell Westbrook is having a great season with the Sacramento Kings, even though the franchise is not. Westbrook isn't the only league veteran on the team making history. DeMar DeRozan recently became the 23rd player in the NBA to reach 26,000 points.
Last night, the Kings took on the Rockets for the third time this season and picked up their second win over Kevin Durant's squad. That makes Houston the only team in 2025-2026 to lose to the Kings twice, an accomplishment that is oddly historic in its own strange way.
Westbrook, as always, continued to play incredibly well, even in season 18. He finished the game with a double-double that featured 15 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, and one steal. On top of that, he shot 60% from the field in his almost 34 minutes on the court, which is impressive.
Throughout the season, Westbrook has continued to make history as he climbs up various all-time leaderboards and adds to his lead as the greatest triple-double machine of all time. But his achievements should not eclipse the accomplishments of another living legend on the team.
DeMar DeRozan is also making history with the Kings
Without question, DeMar DeRozan is the most consistent scorer Sacramento has on the roster this season. He's averaging 18.6 points per game and is shooting a solid 50.2% from the field and 36.0% from three. It's rare that he isn't at least in the double-digits, and has scored as high as 37.
It's that level of shooting efficiency that led to him crossing a major benchmark against the Rockets. He collected another 22 points as well as two rebounds and six assists. Those 22 points got him over the 26,000 career mark, making him the 23rd player to achieve that major goal.
DeRozan is now sitting between Vince Carter at 24 and Kevin Garnett at 22 on the NBA's All-Time Points Leaders list. If DeMar keeps shooting at his current rate for the rest of the season and stays healthy, he'll pick up another 800 points in 2025-2026. That would give him a total of 26,818 points.
At that point, he's close to the top ten by the end of this season, keeping in mind there are several other active players shooting their way up the same list. Regardless, DeMar DeRozan has cemented his place as one of the greatest scorers in the history of the league, and that should be celebrated.