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Dallas Mavericks: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season

By Daniel Lubofsky

DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 18: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks celebrates with Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks after scoring a basket against Kenrich Williams #34 of the New Orleans Pelicans to become the sixth all-time leading scorer in the NBA at American Airlines Center on March 18, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS - MARCH 18: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks celebrates with Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks after scoring a basket against Kenrich Williams #34 of the New Orleans Pelicans to become the sixth all-time leading scorer in the NBA at American Airlines Center on March 18, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /

5. Dirk climbs up the scoring chart

Dirk Nowitzki’s legendary career has always seemed more fantasy than reality. After averaging just 8.2 points per game as a rookie, most didn’t think he had what it took to become a dependable rotational piece on an NBA roster, much less one of the greatest players in league history.

Yet after roughly 20 years of All-Star appearances, an MVP trophy and an NBA championship, Nowitzki found himself within range of the great Wilt Chamberlain for sixth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

The day he finally passed Wilt was March 18, 2019. The New Orleans Pelicans were in town. Dirk caught the ball just above the free throw line with less than nine minutes to play in the first quarter. He contorted his seven-foot frame and unleashed his signature jumper as he had thousands of times prior to that special moment.

With that bucket, his point total would surpass Chamberlain’s 31,419 points. Wilt’s scoring prowess was considered the stuff of legend in NBA history. For a relatively unknown gangly kid out of Germany to score more points than one of the most dominant players ever is something nobody could’ve predicted when Nowitzki came into the league back in 1998.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan may have him beat, but none of those five legends took the same route as Nowitzki, cast aside as a stereotypical soft overseas prospect and transformed into one of the greatest international players the NBA has ever seen.

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