Dirk Nowitzki may retire at the end of this season, or he may choose to come back for the 2019-20 campaign depending on how he feels come this year’s end.
Whatever the case, many around the league are making sure to try and appreciate his greatness in what could be his final season. Nowitzki was honored alongside Dwyane Wade at this year’s All-Star Game, and received a standing ovation, prompted by Doc Rivers, in the closing seconds of his last visit to L.A. to play the Clippers.
On Monday night against the Pelicans, Nowitzki further cemented his place as the greatest foreign-born scorer in NBA history when he passed Wilt Chamberlain for sixth on the all-time scoring list. Dirk entered the game three points behind Chamberlain and quickly got the four points he needed to pass Wilt with a pair of 20-foot jumpers in the first four minutes of the game to reach 31,420 points.
SIXTH ALL-TIME! pic.twitter.com/b1MMpCzgPe
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 19, 2019
Any time you pass Wilt on a major NBA list, you’ve done something great, and it’s fitting that Dirk got it done with his patented fading jumper over a helpless defender trying to contest what has long been an uncontestable shot.
With over 800 points separating him and Michael Jordan in fifth (who LeBron James recently passed) it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Nowitzki could reach the GOAT if he played another season. Whether he does or not, achieving sixth on the all-time scoring list is an incredible feat and serves as a reminder that Dirk is one of the greatest scorers and players to ever grace an NBA court.
