There is no doubt that Bam Adebayo's 83-point performance for the Miami Heat on March 10 was one of the best individual performances in NBA history. His scoring explosion resulted in him ranking second all-time in single-game scoring, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. While monster scoring games have become more common in recent years, it was rare to see players exceed the 60-point threshold after Chamberlain's playing days ended. After all, the greatest center of all-time scored 60 or more points 32 times out of 92 ever.
Sure, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in 2006, but it wasn't until Devin Booker's 70-point performance on March 24, 2017, that extremely high-scoring affairs really started happening with more regularity. As impressive as Adebayo, Booker and other 70-plus point games in recent history were, it's also clear that many of these scoring outputs were a bit inflated. Late-game machinations resulted in a monster scoring performance that turned out to be something else entirely. Adebayo and Booker similarly went from playing basketball at the highest level for most of the game, then taking part in what some saw as not actually playing actual basketball, in pursuit of the record books.
Both players turned in their iconic performances, as well as their respective teams, to score 70 points (Booker) and surpass Bryant's scoring mark (Adebayo) late in the game. So, were these late pranks worth it?
A look at the career nights of Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo
As mentioned above, in 2017, such high-scoring games weren't really as important as they are now. Booker was the leader in that regard as he scored 70 points. Therefore, it was necessary to take a page out of Chamberlain's book and draw the number 70 on a piece of paper. Booker scored 70 in his second season in the league at just 20 years old, making him not only the youngest 70-point scorer, but also the youngest player to cross the 60-point mark.
His Phoenix Suns were not very good at that time, so Booker had to carry a heavy burden for the team. He wasn't actually to blame for Phoenix losing that match, as the shooting guard really did everything in his power to try to lead his team to victory. Still, knowing that it ended in a relatively decisive defeat takes away a bit of the charm from Booker's performance.
While Booker was playing a huge game regardless, a lot of his points didn't come until the last few minutes of the game when it was already getting out of hand. He had 19 points at halftime and 42 points by the end of the third quarter. He then broke the franchise scoring record with 61 points at the 1:49 mark. From there, Booker scored 70 points, hitting one shot after another with less than two minutes remaining. No one on his team was attempting to score, even if it meant giving his team a better chance of realistically coming back.
The same thing was happening in Adebayo's iconic game. His Heat teammates were even intentionally missing free throws to give Adebayo a potential chance to get more possessions and shots. Adebayo was also clearly foul-baiting in order to get to the free throw line at the end of the game. Some would argue that it destroys the prestige and honor of the glorious game of basketball.
Adebayo scored his 79th point with 2:05 left in the game, surpassing Chamberlain for third most points ever. He tied Bryant with 81 points at the 1:37 mark, and the 82nd and 83rd points took him into sole possession of the second-highest scoring game of all time at the 1:16 mark.
While Adebayo was clearly unconscious from everywhere on the floor all night, all six of those record-breaking late-game points came from the charity stripe. The Heat also won in blowout fashion, 150-129. While Adebayo was often singled out because of that wasted time, it should be appreciated that his scoring directly led to a huge win.
Regardless, what Adebayo and Booker did was impressive, no matter how you try to spin it. No one else has ever scored 83 points for some reason. Despite what some would consider borderline unethical play late, both players were clearly playing incredible games. Whatever happens, they deserved to have their names entered in the record books.
