Dirk Nowitzki Moves Past Shaq In The Record Books

Dirk Nowitzki moved past Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list with a jumper over Andrea Bargnani.

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 119-118 on Wednesday, but the game will be remember more for Dirk Nowitzki moving up a spot on the all-time scoring list. Now No. 6 all-time, Nowitzki passed Shaquille O’Neal‘s 28,597 in the second quarter before ending the game with 22 points, bringing his career total to 28,609.

It was another solid night for Nowitzki on 7-of-13 shooting, with five rebounds and three assists.

After winning the title in 2011, it seemed like Dirk finally was getting the credit he deserved, no longer title by the label of not winning a championship, and effectively erasing the memories of the Mavericks loss to the Miami Heat in 2006.

It is hard to believe he’s 37 years old now, in his 17th season in the NBA. When he entered the league in 1998, the stereotype was that European players were skilled but “soft.” In 2015, I don’t think that’s something Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with.

More from Hoops Habit

He’s being fully embraced and it doesn’t seem like we even really make a big deal about players even being from Europe, or anywhere else in the world now.

And that’s how it should be. Nowitzki’s career will partially be about how he changed how foreign players are viewed in the NBA, but thanks to him being a team leader, and a winner, the narrative is about what he has accomplished.

It is almost hokey to even talk about it that way, but that’s how Dirk and others were talked about almost 20 years ago. Dirk is the first player that comes to mind when I think of team’s that build their team around a European player, and it was worth at least one championship in Dallas.

The “soft” labels are gone now, and no one is talking about anything like that when a team like New York is building their future around a 7’3″ Latvian.

If nothing else, Dirk took away one lazy way for people to talk about players that come from overseas.

LBJ vs 3-6-Latvia

As we mentioned, one of the players benefiting from the erasing of a lazy stereotype is Porzingis and last night he went head-to-head with this generation’s best player, LeBron James. They both held their own.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up the 91-84 win behind LeBron’s 24 points, nine boards, and five assists while Porzingis had 23 points and 13 rebounds.

LeBron is still king and the Cavaliers are still on top, but we’re seeing the evolution of New York Knicks and who will likely be the next king of New York as Kristaps continues to look like the future. Being over seven feet tall and having the style and agility that Porzingis has makes him more than just another center in the NBA, and a lot of fun to watch.

We Were So Close

Not that exciting, but the Golden State Warriors won again last night, beating the Utah Jazz 103-85.

The Warriors are 27-1 going into their Christmas Day matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Damn you, Milwaukee Bucks, for beating them and not giving us a perfect Warriors for Christmas.

That being said … TWENTY-SEVEN AND ONE!

If you’ve been paying attention to the Best Starts page on Basketball-Reference, you’ve noticed the unstoppable force and the immovable object situation brewing. On the front in is this Golden State team erasing the records for best start, while on the back end are the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls, who finished the season with the best record we’ve ever seen (72-10).

More hoops habit: 50 Greatest Players Of All-Time

The Warriors keep marching and the only question is whether they keep it up. Right now it looks like they will practically be the only team left of page when the season ends.

Daily NBA Fix: Dirk Nowitzki Moves Past Shaq In The Record Books

By Ben Gibson | Dec 24, 2015

Dirk Nowitzki moved past Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list with a jumper over Andrea Bargnani.

More from Hoops Habit

LBJ vs 3-6-Latvia

We Were So Close