Carmelo Anthony passes Dominique Wilkins for 13th on all-time scoring list

Carmelo Anthony reached a milestone Tuesday night, passing Dominique Wilkins on the all-time scoring list.

On Tuesday night, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Wizards 132-121. Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points off the bench (8-for-16 from the floor) while chipping in four rebounds, one assist and one steal over 26 minutes.

Anthony went 1-for-5 from beyond the arc in the game, with the make coming when there was a little less than four minutes to go in the third quarter. His teammates appeared to clear out for him during the possession, perhaps knowing the significance of what might come in an otherwise unremarkable game.

Carmelo Anthony has passed Dominique Wilkins

Anthony entered the game 14 points behind Dominique Wilkins for 13th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. That 3-pointer gave him 17 points in the game and put him past Wilkins on the all-time scoring list. He is now seven points clear of Wilkins.

Anthony has seemed to embrace a bench role in Portland, starting just two of 19 games to this point in the season. His scoring is well off his career norm (12.1 points per game), as has been the case for a few seasons now. But he’s still good for a notable game once in a while, as evidenced by three 20-plus point outings this season.

Anthony (26,675 career points) is 35 points away from Oscar Robertson for 12th on the all-time scoring list, so that milestone should come within the next few games. Further out is Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946 points; 271 points away) and Elvin Hayes (27,313 points; 638 points away) before Anthony cracks the top-10. Olajuwon is well within range this season, but unless he ups his scoring Anthony will have to play next season to pass Hayes.

It feels like Anthony should have more than one scoring title in his career. But he is one of the best pure scorers of his era, and of any era as he tries to keep climbing a list of all-time greats.