Dirk Nowitzki becomes sixth player to score 30,000 points in the NBA
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 08/03/17 9:03am
Dallas Mavericks great Dirk Nowitzki has become the first international player to break the 30,000-point barrier in the NBA.
The German is only the sixth player to reach 30,000 points in the NBA's history, joining superstars Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and all-time leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 38,387 points in his career.
Nowitzki passed the landmark by scoring 25 points in the Mavericks' 122-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
He scored all of his points in the first half and was able to rest in the second after Dallas stormed into a 31-point lead.
The 38-year-old joins Malone and Bryant in reaching 30,000 points while playing for only one franchise - he was traded to the Mavericks immediately after being selected with the seventh pick of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
"It was just an amazing experience," Nowitzki said. "After every basket I made, I felt a buzz in the crowd.
"I made the first one and it was a two, and then I made the first three and thought, 'Why not?'
"I threw another one up and it went in, and then the next three came right after that and I was just trying to ride it from there."
