The Miami Heat became the center of attention in the NBA world on Tuesday evening when center Bam Adebayo scored an astonishing 83 points in a home win over the Washington Wizards. The scoring explosion put Adebayo past Kobe Bryant, who famously scored 81 points 20 years ago, as the second-most points ever, behind only Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points in a game.
Almost immediately after the game ended, some fans on the Internet, particularly Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers fans, began searching for ways to discredit Adebayo’s performance, with some pointing to the star’s over 40 free throw attempts in the game, as well as the fact that this outburst occurred against the tanking Washington Wizards.
Things got weird late in this one, with the Heat opting to keep Adebayo in the game in the blowout zone in an attempt to clinch the record. The Wizards then began calling fouls to put Adebayo’s Heat teammates on the line to prevent Adebayo from scoring, after which Miami players began intentionally missing free throws to get the ball back.
This is in contrast to Bryant’s game against the Raptors, in which the Lakers trailed for most of the evening and needed every one of the Star’s 81 points to win, leading some to conclude that Bryant’s historic game was more “moral” than the one produced by Adebayo.
While this may be true in the purest basketball terms, it shouldn’t take away from what Adebayo has accomplished. The Stars had 31 points in the first quarter alone, and it’s also important to note that 29 other teams play the Wizards, and none have come close to matching Adebayo’s output.
It is also worth remembering that Chamberlain was reported to have done a huge amount of stat-padding in his attempt to score 100 points, even having the opponent deliberately foul him to get him over the line.
Years from now, most fans will likely remember Adebay’s extremely difficult score, not the means by which he got there, even if they look a little sketchy at the moment.
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