Move over, Shaquille O'Neal. Your old adversary has just passed you by...again.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant came into Monday's game against the Philadelphia 76ers just 23 points shy of his former teammate/foe on the NBA's all-time scoring list and promptly shot himself further up the ladder. The Black Mamba poured in 24 points in the first half, hitting eight of his 14 shots, including four three-pointers.

With that, Kobe now ranks fifth in NBA history in points, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. He needs a shade under 3,000 points to surpass "The Stilt" and approximately 3,700 to leave His Airness in the dust.

If Kobe continues to pour in 30 points per game as he's done this season, he may well find himself movin' on up again at some point during the 2012-13 season—even at the age of 33, with 16 years of professional basketball under his belt and a never-ending slew of injuries on his medical rap sheet.

Not bad for a guy selected behind the likes of Kerry Kittles, Samaki Walker and Vitaly Potapenko.

Bryant surpassed Shaq on the list of all-time champions two years ago when he led the Lakers to a seven-game series victory over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals, giving him his fifth ring to Shaq's four.