Watch Dirk Nowitzki Pass Wilt Chamberlain for 6th on NBA's All-Time Scoring List

It only felt right.

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki used his vintage fadeaway mid-range jumper during Monday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans to pass Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain for sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Nowitzki needed four points against the Pelicans to reach 31,420 to surpass Chamberlain's mark and is now behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan in league history.

Dirk 6th All Time

Nowitzki is a surefire future Hall of Famer as the 2006-07 NBA MVP, 2011 NBA Finals MVP, 12-time All-NBA selection and 14-time All-Star who averaged more than 20 points per game 13 times in his career.

That scoring prowess helped him gradually climb this list, and he has averaged 20.8 points a night in 21 seasons in the league.

He was a nightmare matchup in his prime because of his ability to shoot at 7'0" and draw opposing frontcourt players away from the rim. While he would dribble past them at that point, he also was capable of shooting his patented fadeaway over smaller defenders if opposing coaches switched or doubled him.

The question now is whether he will continue playing beyond the 2018-19 campaign and perhaps catch Jordan like James did earlier this season.

Jordan (32,292) finished with 873 more points than Chamberlain, and Nowitzki scored 927 just last season. That means the Mavericks great could theoretically catch His Airness if he returned for the 2019-20 season and racked up three-pointers as a veteran role player.

He told reporters during All-Star Weekend that he hasn't officially said he will retire and will "wait and see the last couple of weeks, how my body feels and if I continue to see improvement and I'm still having fun, we'll see."

That hasn't stopped NBA arenas across the league from greeting him with standing ovations and chants as he continues to add to a legacy that now features more points than Chamberlain.