"Bam Adebayo: A Rare Performance In Passing Kobe Bryant"

On March 10th 2026, NBA fans witnessed another rare performance
with high scoring for an individual player. It's not every single season
this occurs in real time. Miami Heat all-star Bam Adebayo passed the
late great Kobe Bryant for most points scored in a single game.
Finishing with eighty-three points; passing Bryant's eighty-one points set
back in 2006. The performance was met with praise; while others
deemed it just another no-name player.

Adebayo's performance was on full display; as he started the game with
thirty-one in the first quarter. By the fourth quarter, sixty-two points and
still counting. This wasn't by design; Adebayo was in a zone and Miami
kept feeding the beast. When a player is hot, keep the momentum
flowing and let it play out. As the clock ran down to all zeros, Miami had
defeated the Washington Wizards 150-129. Now... Brace yourselves,
I'm going to go full introspect mode and break it down.

Biggest takeaway from this sensational performance: Adebayo's forty-
three free throw attempts; making thirty-six. It was arguably the best stat

line for an all-star player who Washington couldn't or didn't even try to
stop. These are professional athletes with pride and ego riding high
every night. There was nothing the Wizards did or said that could
change the outcome. A regular season game and counts towards wins,
losses and all the above. But with high praise comes backlash from the
general "old heads" who witnessed Kobe Bryant drop eighty-one versus
the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

The raining of negative media and fans alike thought Adebayo's
performance was "rubbish" and didn't count because of Washington's
poor play. All the naysayers were throwing strays and shade because of

you know: "Kobe Bryant's performance was better and played against
tougher competition." So... I'm going to omit my fandom and speak
from a different perspective.

Bryant's performance was by far one of the greatest we've witnessed. In
a game where he took over and led the Lakers to victory, we applauded
and gave credit. Even with the Raptors playing tooth and nail, Bryant
had unleashed his alter ego "The Black Mamba," which became
synonymous with Bryant. Fans witnessed this and shrugged "no name
player and didn't count." Would they say the same about Wilt
Chamberlain's one hundred point game? Hmm...

We don't have actual footage of Chamberlain's performance; other than
pictures of him holding a sheet of paper with "100" written on it. Even
with Adebayo passing Bryant for second place, it shouldn't be
overlooked by basketball historians. How many players can say they
scored that many points in a single game? Let me throw this out there: If
Michael Jordan had scored eighty-three points, we'd never hear the end
of it. Why? Because the "Jordan Stans" will say it was the greatest
regular season performance ever. Nobody can surpass it... Unless it's
Kobe Bryant. Heaven forbid if LeBron James accomplishes this and
adds to his legendary career. They'll discredit James' name and throw
Jordan in front of their argument.

Moral of the story, appreciate the milestones without discrediting players
who achieve something of this magnitude. Records are meant to be
broken and rest assured another player will go higher than Adebayo. If
we witness a player scoring one hundred points in a regular season
game, there will be film and commentary further down the road. As fans,
stop bashing one to credit legends who did it their way.

Basketball culture is already toxic as we speak and only adding
unwanted commentary adds more hate. Be mindful enough and
appreciate what's here with us in the present. Give players their flowers
and embrace the current basketball landscape of great players.