Dirk Nowitzki Passes Shaquille O'Neal for No. 6 on All-Time Scoring List

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki passed Shaquille O'Neal and moved into sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets. 

The record-setting bucket came in the second quarter on a quick pick-and-pop jumper from the left corner:

Nowitzki only trails Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar following Wednesday's historic performance. 

NBA.com provided a look at how far Nowitzki still has to go before joining a legendary top five:

A season after passing Moses Malone for No. 7 on the all-time scoring list, Nowitzki continued what's been a stellar 2015-16 campaign with an accomplishment that reinforces just how dominant he's been late in his 17-year career. 

Entering Wednesday night, Nowitzki was averaging 17.3 points on 48.1 percent shooting from the field, 39.4 percent from three and 89.8 percent from the free-throw line. Considering it's only December, the 37-year-old Nowitzki has a realistic shot to become the oldest member of the 50/40/90 club, according to Basketball-Reference.com. 

A one-time member of that esteemed and efficient crew, Nowitzki has proved to be a trendsetting force thanks to his one-legged fadeaway jumper and transcendence as one of the league's pre-eminent stretch-4s, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein: 

Now, the question surrounding the future Hall of Famer is whether he'll be able to climb past Wilt and nestle up next to Jordan and Kobe before his contract expires following the 2016-17 season. 

"I want to play two more years under contract here, hopefully at a high level, compete, hopefully be efficient when I'm out there," Nowitzki said, per the Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend. 

Although he's been plenty efficient, it will be tremendously difficult for Nowitzki to amass the more than 2,800 points necessary to slip past Wilt as he enters the twilight of his career. 

However, there's no shame in sitting at No. 6 and holding that spot down as Springfield comes calling.