Bam Adebayo delivered one of the most shocking scoring performances in NBA history last night, dropping 83 points and passing Kobe Bryant (81) for the second-highest scoring game ever. He also set the league record for most free throws attempted and made in a single game.
Bam Adebayo for 83?! Adebayo’s career high before last night was 41. He more than doubled that. If you told me someone from this generation would pass Kobe at 81, my guess probably would have been it was Durant or Curry. Nope. It’s Bam Adebayo sitting right behind Chamberlain’s historic 100 point game. Chamberlain’s record has stood since 1962. Kobe Bryant’s historic 81 point game has been the second most in a single game since he accomplished that in January of 2006. Nights like this just don’t happen. Scoring 80+ points in the NBA is pretty much unheard of. Even elite scorers rarely reach numbers like this. Kevin Durant, arguably the best pure scorer of this generation, has a career-high of 55 points. Just to put in perspective how crazy 83 is. A shocking performance from Adebayo.
If you’ve read my past blogs, you know I have to mention the free throws though. Bam was 36/43 from the free throw line. Both the attempts and makes being NBA records. He shot 43 field goals too in this game. So 43 free throws and 43 field goal attempts. I recently wrote about how foul calls are impacting the watchability of the NBA.
The Heat were clearly trying to get Adebayo to the line while Miami was in the bonus in the 4th quarter. The Wizards were even trying to foul other players than Bam. On defense, the Heat even began intentionally fouling the Wizards on defense to preserve time. I’m not trying to take anything away from this historic night, but things like that happening at the end make it feel less natural.
To be fair drawing fouls is a skill. Great players put pressure on defenses and force contact to get to the line. So I’m sure several of those fouls were legit on Bam. But 43 free throws in a single game for a single player seems absurd. Even Wizards coach Brian Keefe said “He still got some free throws 40 feet from the rim. I can’t explain some of those calls. That’s all I got to say on that.” So Keefe was clearly not happy with at least some of the calls given to Bam. An incredible night in the NBA, but it does also reflect the problem with modern officiating in my opinion. Too many whistles and reviews.
Regardless of how the points came, an 83-point night is something fans rarely see. The question now is whether this was simply a legendary performance — or another sign that the NBA’s whistle has become too generous.
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