Dirk Nowitzki scored seventeen points in a win over the Magic last night and in the process passed immortal Celtics legend Larry Bird for 25th on the all-time NBA scoring chart. The scoring milestone occurred on a three-point dagger at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Congrats, Dirk!

If anyone had told us back when you entered the league in 1998 that you would reach such a milestone we would have laughed hysterically.

Not anymore.

WATCH A CLIP OF DIRK FROM THE RECORD-BREAKING GAME HERE

If Dirk continues his current scoring pace, and nothing suggests that he won’t, he will pass Clyde Drexler and Gary Payton. He also stands an outside chance of passing Adrian Dantley and Bob McAdoo.

According to the Dallas News even “Larry Legend” called Dirk to congratulate him on his accomplishment and Nowitzki offered up the following words:

“It’s obviously an unbelievable accomplishment to be in the top 25 scorers in this amazing league with so many amazing players,” Nowitzki said. “But it’s going to mean more to me when my career’s done. When I’m 15 or 20 years from now, I can look back and it’s something I’ll be proud of. But as of now, I’m still chasing the dream and trying to win a championship. But it’ll be a sweet one in 20 years.”

Check out the table below illustrating numbers 10-30 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list after last night’s games:

RANK

PLAYER

POINTS     

Dominique Wilkins 26668

Kobe Bryant 26535

John Havlicek 26395

Alex English 25613

Reggie Miller 25279

Jerry West 25192

Patrick Ewing 24815

Allen Iverson 24368

Charles Barkley 23757

Robert Parish 23334

Adrian Dantley 23177

Elgin Baylor 23149

Kevin Garnett 22669

Clyde Drexler 22195

Gary Payton 21813

25. Dirk Nowitzki 21798

Larry Bird 21791

Hal Greer 21586

Ray Allen 21408

Tim Duncan 21023

Walt Bellamy 20941

To celebrate I offer five links to clips that are sure to warm the hearts of any Dirk Nowitzki fan: (Click on the bold writing to view clips)

Nowitzki is not finished, of course - he’s posting 24.5 points per game this year on the most efficient shooting percentage of his career and there is no reason to think he won’t pass Dominique Wilkins for a top-ten berth before he’s through.

So much for skill deteriorating with age.

Who would’ve known that we’d be calling Don Nelson a genius after all these years.