On Wednesday night, the Duke basketball program’s oldest current representative in the NBA, who is averaging a career high in points this season at the age of 34, became the latest to join an exclusive club.
Eighty former Duke basketball players (including transfers to and from the program) have scored at least one basket in either the NBA or ABA.
And as of Wednesday night, 12 of those have now reached the 10,000-point club.
J.J. Redick, the Philadelphia 76ers’ sharpshooter who holds the all-time record for points scored as a Blue Devil (2,769), became the latest to reach the five-digit mark in points for his NBA career during his team’s 131-109 home win over the New York Knicks.
Point No. 10,000 came on a 2-point shot from about 17 feet during the second quarter on his way to 14 points for the contest (5-for-13 from the field, including 1-for-4 from beyond the arc).
Here’s the moment it happened and the reaction from his teammates:
Get you some friends who are as proud of your career milestones as the Sixers are of JJ Redick's. pic.twitter.com/BMHwAUmsvV
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) December 20, 2018
Here’s what the 6-foot-4, 200-pound shooting guard from Roanoke, Va., said about the achievement, as reported by NBC Sports’ Noah Levick, after the game:
"“No. 1, I feel like if you do something long enough, the milestones just sort of come. It’s not going to equal greatness or anything like that; you just kind of luck into it, I guess. The other part of that is if you had told me like 10 years ago as a third-year guy struggling to get into the rotation that I would score 10,000 points, I would think you were crazy. It’s a cool thing for me. I’m a little self-deprecating, but it’s a cool thing for me. I didn’t realize that I was that close. It’s cool.”"
And here’s a ranking of all the former Duke basketball players who are members of the cool club:
- Grant Hill (1994-13) — 17,137
- Elton Brand (1999-16) — 16,827
- Carlos Boozer (2002-15) — 13,976
- Luol Deng (2003-present) — 13,216
- Corey Maggette (1999-13) — 13,198
- Jeff Mullins (1964-76) — 13,017
- Jack Marin (1966-77) — 12,541
- Christian Laettner (1992-05) — 11,121
- Mike Dunleavy (2002-17) — 11,048
- Mike Gminski (1980-94) — 10,953
- Kyrie Irving (2011-present) — 10,339
- J.J. Redick (2006-present) — 10,005
Based on Redick’s ability to become better with age, as pointed out here at Ball Durham a couple weeks ago, there’s no telling how far up the list he will climb (not likely as far as Irving, who at the age of 26 is well on his way to taking over the top spot).
ALSO READ: Redick setting NBA record for aging like whiskey
The 13-year NBA veteran is averaging a career-high 18.0 points this season for the 21-12, third-in-the-Eastern-Conference 76ers, whose next game is at home on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against the first-place Toronto Raptors.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham all season for coverage of highlight performances by former Blue Devils in the NBA.