James Harden reached another milestone in his career during the Los Angeles Clippers' game against the Charlotte Hornets.

With a stunning performance of 32 points and 10 assists, Harden officially surpassed legendary center Shaquille O'Neal in career regular season scoring, moving up to ninth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Early in the third quarter, Harden hit a signature three-pointer, bringing his career total to 28,598 points, officially surpassing O'Neal's record of 28,596 points. Notably, Harden achieved this feat in just 1,187 games, 20 fewer than O'Neal.

As a native of Los Angeles, Harden emotionally stated in a post-game interview: "I grew up watching Shaq and Kobe win multiple championships in this city. He is the most dominant big man in history. It is a great honor to surpass him and the best proof of my years of hard work."

In this game, Harden was on fire, leading the Clippers to a 117-109 victory over the Hornets. Besides improving his all-time ranking, Harden's 25.6 points per game average this season is also a new high since 2020. His career total points have now reached 28,614.

On the all-time scoring list, the next mountain in Harden's path is Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 points), ranked eighth. Although there is still a gap of about 2,800 points, Harden's current competitive form remains at a high level.

Meanwhile, Harden has risen to 12th on the all-time assists list and firmly holds second place in three-pointers made, behind only Stephen Curry. This 11-time All-Star is solidifying his status as one of the greatest shooting guards in basketball history with a series of top-ten statistics.