Bam Adebayo joins the group of Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant
Adebayo scored 83 points against the Wizards, joining a historic conversation in the NBA, only surpassed by Wilt Chamberlain’s 100.
In an era dominated by prolific scorers, aided by the three-point revolution, the NBA is experiencing a historic moment where offense rules. Still, to think that any player could come between Kobe Bryant’s 81 points in a game in 2006 and Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points, the league’s all-time mark – was hard to believe.
On Tuesday night, the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo did just that, scoring 83 points against the Washington Wizards. With the effort, Adebayo doubled his career high mark in this area. On January 23, 2021, he scored 41 points against the Brooklyn Nets. He had never scored more than 40 during his entire career.
Therefore, the image of a smiling Adebayo, with a piece of paper that had “83” written on it, emulating the photo taken of Chamberlain that night in 1962, serves as a testament to what is possibly one of the most difficult records to achieve in the history of all sports.
Wilt and Kobe, the precursors
That match Chamberlainin which his Philadelphia Warriors They beat the New York Knicks 169-147, it’s really from another era.
The skill and stature of players like Wilt and Bill Russell allowed for such large disparities between players on the floor that moments like that could occur.
Chamberlain He scored 36 baskets of 63 attempts, he also made 28 free throws of the 32 he shot. Therefore, when on January 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant hit 81 against the Toronto Raptors at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the effort was considered almost equally impressive as what Chamberlain did in 1962.
Because of the complexity of doing so in the modern era of the NBA, the game marked Bryant’s legacy as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
In the first half, Bryant had “just” 26 points, and the Lakers entered halftime with a partial loss of 63-49. In the second half, Bryant He played the full 24 minutes and managed to score 55 points to help Los Angeles come back and achieve only the second game in league history with more than 80 points from a single player.
Unlike Chamberlainwho scored most of his scoring on shots inside the paint, Bryant made most of his shots from outside, and 18 free throws, ten fewer than Wilt made in 1962.
During his career, Bryant scored 60 or more points five times, while Chamberlain achieved this 32 times, a number that is by far the most in NBA history.
To put this in context, Michael Jordan did it just four times, while current league stars like James Harden (four), Stephen Curry, Devin Booker and Luka Doncic (two) rank below Wilt and Kobe.
Therefore, the party of Adebayo It could be perceived by some as a basketball accident, or the reflection that, in this NBA, offense is the norm of the day, elevating the league’s very talented players to be able to reach a superlative level on almost any night.
Adebayo, to the history books
As of 2023, there have been five games in which a player scores more than 70 points. Luka Doncic scored 72 in January 2024, while Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard scored 71 between January and February 2023. Joel Embiid scored 70, as did Doncic in January 2024.
But Adebayo, A star within the league not particularly noted for his scoring skills, he joined the list of highest-scoring players in the eight decades of the NBA’s existence.
Just like Kobe On his historic night, Adebayo had a very good night behind the arc – seven three-pointers in 22 attempts. Bryant had made 7 of 13. And, like Chamberlain, Bam relied heavily on free throws for his final score. This Wednesday, Adebayo set two NBA records: he made 36 free throws and attempted 43.
In half time, Adebayo I already had 43 points. He would finish the night joining Chamberlain as just the second player with at least 20 baskets and 25 free throws in a single game. Perhaps the most impressive statistic of his night is that in the NBA this season, 11 teams have had games in which they scored fewer than 83 points, the mark that Bam achieved on his own against the Wizards.
“Wilt, me, and then Kobe,” he said. Adebayo after the game. “It sounds really crazy,” he continued. “I didn’t think it was going to be 83 points, but having this moment is surreal because as I said, being able to do it at home, in front of my mother and my people, in front of the (Miami) fans, is a historical mark that will always be remembered,” he concluded.
