Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo had a historic night on Tuesday night when he passed Kobe Bryant for second most points all time behind Wilt Chamberlain. Adebayo scored an astounishing 83 points, which is 2 above Kobe’s 81 points performance over 20 years ago.
The statline shocked everyone as Adebayo was never known much as a scorer. His previous career high was 41, which is still very good, but doubling that at the age of 28 when no one was expecting anyone to get to the 80-point mark is what makes this game so unique.
However, the game has sparked some controversey around the NBA. Announcer Doris Burke said the game made her feel “uncomfortable” while other fans have pointed out that the fourth quarter performance which got Adebayo to 83 was not hard fought and more like a disgrace to the game. Former NBA all-star Gordon Hayward even stated that the performance “didn’t feel great for the game.”
Eric Spolestra is also receiving some backlash because it seemed like he made it his goal to get Bam above the 81 point mark. There was a stop of possesion when Adebayo had 80 and the announcers even stated that it felt right to take Bam out of the game, but Spolestra decided to keep him in to chase history. After Adebayo reached 83 from the free throw line, he was taken out for the last minute.
Overall, the game was historic and will be remembered forever, but with consequences for how it was done.
