Houston Rockets player James Harden became the 45th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points or more in his career as a basketball player. He achieved this feat when the Houston Rockets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 139-109 on Saturday night. Harden completed the feat with a side-step three-point shot over Robert Covington with 6:34 left in the second quarter.

Harden started the game with 19,990 career points. He scored 22 points in the first half alone and finished the game with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists. His partner, Russell Westbrook, scored 30 points and added 6 rebounds and 10 assists.

Harden is the fifth active player of the 20,000 point club. The other players are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Vince Carter.

James Harden is only 30 years old. The bearded man can play for 5-10 more years, considering the way he is now. LeBron James made 30,000 when he was 33 years old. Harden is the youngest to ever achieve the feat. It's possible that He can break the record or at least come close to it. He has been the scoring champion for the past two years.This season, with a current average of 37.9 points a game, he will likely get a third according to MSN.com.

It will be a long time before Harden breaks any more scoring records. The current leader, Michael Jordan, holds 10 scoring titles, including seven straight years from 1986-87 to 1992-93 when he retired the first time. He won three titles again when he came back from 1996 to 1998.

However, there is another record he could aim for this season. The top three highest scoring averages in a season are all held by Wilt Chamberlain. The third-place rank is 38.4, that's within reach for Harden if he scores a bit more this season.

Assuming Harden stays healthy and plays at the same level for the next five years, he can break the golden 36,000 mark. There are currently only two NBA players in that club. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) and Karl Malone (36,928 points). LeBron James is already at 33,482, and with the way he is playing, he will most likely achieve it next season. If things go well for Harden, then he will be the fourth player inducted in the most exclusive NBA scoring milestone club.

James Harden Reuters