Dirk Nowitzki Passes Scottie Pippen on NBA's All-Time Playoff Scoring List

Dirk Nowitzki made some history while his Dallas Mavericks were fighting for their postseason lives in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.

NBA on ESPN noted he passed Scottie Pippen to move into 14th place on the all-time playoff scoring list in the first half:

Nowitzki did it with a vintage fadeaway jumper over the outstretched arms of Nick Collison. The Mavericks shared the play on Twitter:

Nowitzki now sits behind legendary names such as Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon and John Havlicek on the all-time playoff scoring list. Here is a look at the postseason scoring leaders coming into action Monday, before Nowitzki passed Pippen, per Basketball-Reference.com:

Rank	Player	Points
1	Michael Jordan	5,987
2	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	5,762
3	Kobe Bryant	5,640
4	Shaquille O'Neal	5,250
5	Tim Duncan	5,136
6	LeBron James	5,111
7	Karl Malone	4,761
8	Jerry West	4,457
9	Larry Bird	3,897
10	Tony Parker	3,820
11	John Havlicek	3,776
12	Hakeem Olajuwon	3,755
13	Magic Johnson	3,701
14	Scottie Pippen	3,642
*15	Dirk Nowitzki	3,639

That he is in the top 15 comes as no surprise considering how effective of a scorer he has been throughout his career. He is sixth on the NBA’s all-time regular-season scoring list behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

The 7-footer has always been a matchup problem with the ball in his hands because of his ability to stretch the floor from three-point range, post up smaller defenders on the block, attack the basket off the dribble and drop beautiful fadeaways from mid-range.

The future Hall of Famer has saved some of his best performances for the postseason. He won the NBA title over LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2010-11 and earned NBA Finals MVP honors after averaging 26.0 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in the series.

The 13-time All-Star was also the regular-season MVP in 2006-07 and has been a member of 12 All-NBA teams in his career.

Dallas is facing a difficult matchup against the Thunder, which has limited Nowitzki’s chances of advancing in the playoffs this season, but Mavericks fans can expect at least one more year out of their superstar. The 37-year-old forward discussed his future in March, per Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News:

"

Obviously, I still have a year under contract and I'd love to fulfill it. I do have the possibility to opt out if I can. But that's not really in the plan. I always said I wanted to play three years [of this contract] to the end and kind of re-evaluate what my body feels like at the end of those three years. Saying all that, I'm weighing how this season goes. But in my mind, after we won the championship, it was always clear I would retire a Mav.

"

Nowitzki may not be the dominant force he was in his prime, but he averaged 18.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the regular season this year. He was the leading scorer and third-leading rebounder for a Mavericks team that lost Chandler Parsons to a knee injury but still managed to reach the postseason in the difficult Western Conference.

Dallas should have a healthy Parsons back in 2016-17 (if he takes his player option) and may look to add another piece or two around Nowitzki during the offseason with a rising salary cap. If it can take some of the scoring responsibilities off Nowitzki’s shoulders during the regular season, it will likely help him maintain his effectiveness in April.

If the Mavericks again reach the playoffs, Nowitzki has already proved he can carry the scoring load.