Kobe Bryant has used the 2010-11 season to amass an assault on the NBA’s all-time record books, putting yet another Hall of Famer in his rear view mirror by surpassing Moses Malone for sixth on the scoring chart with a free throw in the second quarter of L.A.’s Tuesday evening win at Atlanta.

Needing 12 points to match Malone’s 27,409 heading into the game, Bryant had 13 by the second quarter, and finished the contest with a game-high 26 points on 8-of-18 field goals plus 9-of-11 free throws.

Prior to shooting past Malone, Bryant had surpassed John Havlicek, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Elvin Hayes.

There are only five players left for Bryant to catch: Shaquille O’Neal (5th/28,590); Wilt Chamberlain (4th/31,419); Michael Jordan (3rd/32,292); Karl Malone (36,928); and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387).

Throughout the season, when asked about passing players, Bryant has been both humble and also a bit dismissive, saying that the only person he’s really chasing is Bill Russell, who of course won 11 championships with the Celtics.