NEW YORK – Few appreciated Kobe Bryant surpassing Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list as much as the man who is six spots below the Los Angeles Lakers legend.

Of course, Dirk Nowitzki has always been a big fan of Bryant, who now sits in the No. 3 spot among the league’s all-time scoring leaders with 32,331 career points.

“He’s probably the greatest player in my generation that I played against,” said Nowitzki, who has 27,239 career points and will likely pass Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone over the next few weeks to move up to seventh on the list. “Obviously Shaq was very dominant, Tim Duncan was great, but I just loved watching Kobe. I don’t think there will ever be another MJ, but he’s definitely as close as it gets that we’ll ever see.

“He had it all. He’s a clutch player, can make shots from anywhere. I’ve had a blast from watching him during his career very closely. That’s a heck of an accomplishment for sure.”