Dirk Nowitzki Passes Wilt Chamberlain in All-Time Points

Dirk Nowitzki moved back into 6th spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list against the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.

The Dallas Mavericks legend finished the 129 – 125 loss with 8 points in 12 minutes. In doing so, Dirk Nowitzki took his career total to 31,424 points.

Entering the game, he needed four points to pass Chamberlain’s 31,419. Dirk Nowitzki made his first two shots of the night to pass Wilt Chamberlain and move back into 6th spot.

Of course, he had already been the 6th all-time leading scorer for a few seasons. That was until LeBron James overtook him earlier this season.

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“The ‘Big Dipper,’ huh? It’s amazing,” said Nowitzki.

“It’s been a long time coming this season, knowing before the year it was only 200-something points [away]. Then there were times when I thought I’m not going to make it, the way the season went with the injury. Coming off the injury was just super, super slow. But the last few weeks felt better, and I’ve been playing better, and the team was obviously looking for me and telling me to shoot.

“I’m glad it’s over with now.”

If Nowitzki sounds relieved, it’s because he probably is after Saturday. He had the chance to pass Chamberlain against the Cavaliers, but he missed his final five shots. He had opened the 4th quarter of that game with a 10 point blitz.

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“I just took my time and faced him up like I’ve done a million times and just tried to shoot over him,” he said.

“It went in, and I was happy. The other night, I couldn’t buy one down the stretch, so it was good to just get it over with in the first two shots.”