“The Big Dipper, huh?” – Dirk Nowitzki’s honest thoughts on surpassing Wilt Chamberlain on NBA all-time scoring list originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Dirk Nowitzki only needed four points to finally pass Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA’s sixth all-time leading scorer when the Dallas Mavericks took on the New Orleans Pelicans on March 18, 2019. The Mavs faithful waited with anticipation to witness their franchise hero’s milestone.
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Sure enough, Dirk quickly achieved it by sinking his first two shots of the game. He reclaimed the No. 6 spot on the NBA all-time scoring list after knocking down a mid-range jumper off a pass from Luka Doncic. The basket saw Nowitzki officially surpassing Chamberlain’s 31,419 points.
However, the Mavs came up short and lost to the Pelicans, 129-125. After the game, Nowitzki shared his honest thoughts on his remarkable feat.
“The ‘Big Dipper,’ huh? It’s amazing,” said Nowitzki, who finished the game with eight points after 12 minutes of action.”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.”
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Dirk heaped praise on Wilt
Nowitzki understood how significant it was to pass an icon like Chamberlain, especially on the all-time scoring list. For Dirk, Wilt was one of the first true dominant players in NBA history and to be ahead of him really meant a lot.
Moreover, Nowitzki even weighed in on how Chamberlain could’ve even improved his spot as one of the league’s all-time scoring leaders. The German Bomber believes that while The Big Dipper didn’t become the No. 1 on the list, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t capable of doing it.
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“He dominated his era like nobody else has dominated in his era,” Nowitzki later said of Chamberlain. “It was obviously a little bit before my time, but everybody knows about Wilt and what he’s done — how athletic he was, how big he was, how he could jump at that height that he was. He was just a freak of nature and unguardable in that era.”
“He only played, what, 13 or 14 years, and he’s still up there with the best,” he continued. “If he had played a couple more years, he’d be No. 1 or 2. So, that’s how dominant he was.”
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Dirk wouldn’t have passed Wilt if he had made one crucial decision
That season ended up being the final chapter of Nowitzki’s legendary NBA career. At 40 years old, he decided to hang up his sneakers, a decision he admits he somewhat regrets.
Admittedly, Nowitzki would’ve retired two years earlier had he known how badly his body would suffer in his final two seasons in the league. Had that happened, he wouldn’t have passed Chamberlain.
“I keep thinking whether the last two years in the NBA were really worth it,” Nowitzki said in 2022. “Of course, there were highlights, but we didn’t perform well on the court, and I couldn’t even really move anymore. If I had quit two years earlier, I could probably move better today and play soccer with the kids sometimes. I can’t do that at all now.”
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Dirk retired with an official tally of 31,560 career points. However, he is unlikely to hold on to the No. 6 spot as the active player closest to him is Kevin Durant, who is currently at No. 8 with 30,571 points.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.