Dirk Nowitzki on Passing Wilt Chamberlain in Scoring: 'Glad It's over with Now'

Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki made history on Monday night, passing NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain for sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Nowitzki had been sixth at one point before dropping to seventh when the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James went above him in October. However, Monday offered him a chance to reclaim the sixth spot.

Entering the game needing just four points to eclipse Chamberlain, Nowitzki wasted little time as he took care of business in the first quarter:

The 14-time All-Star admitted after the game he was relieved to get the moment out of the way early on.

"I just took my time and faced him up like I've done a million times and just tried to shoot over him," Nowitzki said after dropping eight points in a 129-125 overtime loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "It went in, and I was happy. The other night, I couldn't buy one down the stretch, so it was good to just get it over with in the first two shots."

He added:

"The 'Big Dipper,' huh? It's amazing. 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. Coming off the injury was just super, super slow. But the last few weeks felt better, and I've been playing better, and the team was obviously looking for me and telling me to shoot.

"I'm glad it's over with now."

The 40-year-old Nowitzki has not yet decided if he will return for a 22nd season. Should he give it another go, there is a chance his climb up the leaderboard may not be done. With 31,424 career points, he now trails Michael Jordan (32,292) by 868 points for fifth place.