On January 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant recorded his timeless 81-point performance, the second most points ever in one game — a bit behind the legendary Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points in 1962. The scoring machine was known as one of the best scorers in NBA history and an offensive machine with a lesser-known defensive ability. On March 10 of this year, Bam Adebayo surpassed Kobe’s record with 83 points, a player mostly known for his defensive abilities and small glimpses of offensive ability. To put it lightly, this spectacular performance has completely flipped the basketball world on its head and puts the question out there: is Wilt’s record under threat?
Miami Heat, Adebayo’s team, faced the Wizards in what was expected to be a mediocre game. Both teams are in the middle of the pack in terms of their win-loss ratio and are actively restructuring their core, especially the Wizards. From the tip-off something clicked for Adebayo, and by the end of the first half, Adebayo had scored 43 points, surpassing his personal best of 41. To put that in perspective, the combined total of his two highest-scoring games before this night didn’t even reach 83. Reaching 62 by the end of the 3rd quarter, the fans and players could feel what was about to happen.
Something was different that day and critics were quick to pick up on it. It became clear that the Heat were engineering this record. The Heat kept feeding Adebayo the ball even if there were open shots his teammates could’ve taken. In addition to that, Adebayo leaned heavily into free throws. While Kobe’s 81-point game was pure shot making, Adebayo had an eye watering 43 free throw attempts, surpassing the previous record of 39. If the notion of haram-ball is used to describe anti-football tactics, then what Adebayo and the Heat did was its basketball equivalent.
Online, response to the record has ranged from funny to critical. Comments on many TikToks or Instagram Reels followed the formula of: “If Bam can score 83 then (insert unattainable thing) is possible.” Some were critical of Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra for not benching Adebayo out of respect for the late Kobe Bryant — a man whose own legacy is far from spotless — while others maintain that records are meant to be broken.
Overall, this record-breaking performance calls into question the unshakeable record of Wilt Chamberlain. If Adebayo can score 83, the conversation around Wilt’s record must change. For the first time in decades, the record feels in reach. Now, it is just a matter of time.
“Bam Adebayo (cropped)” by File:Bam Adebayo.jpg: Joe Glorioso derivative work: Shakeydeal33 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
