A Wrinkle in History: Bam Adebayo Drops 83 Points and Moves Past Kobe Forever in a Unreal Night.

Written By: Kekoa O’Neil

Contributor | Sideline Society Media

January 22, 2006 was a monumental night in NBA history as we witnessed Kobe Bryant score 81 points in a game. A record that stood as the second highest scored game in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point game back on March 2, 1962. Seeing such large scoring numbers begs the question as to if we would ever witness one of these records being broken in our lifetime. While it seems insurmountable, it’s not considered a “record” if it’s not meant to be broken and just that happened on March 10, 2026 by Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat against the Washington Wizards.

This comes nearly 20 years after Kobe scored 81 points. With the recent uptick in offensive production the past 2-3 years you would have thought Kobe’s record would have been broken a few years ago especially with elite scorers in our game such as Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum amongst others.This goes to show just how hard it is to accomplish what Kobe and now Bam have done and score 80+ points in a game.

Another key thing to factor into these record scoring games is the coach’s willingness to keep their star players in the game even if it has become a blowout. When you compare the two games between Bam and Kobe, you can see the difference in which each scoring output was accomplished. In Kobe’s 81 point game he was 28/46 from the field, 7/13 from 3 point range and 18/20 from the free throw line. On the other hand, in Bam’s 83 pointgame, he was 20/43 from the field, 7/22 from 3 point range and 36/43 from the free throw line.

These numbers by Bam at the free throw line were both records in themselves for most makes and attempts from the line in one single game. As with any record that gets broken, there is going to be noise about how it got done and if it was “ethical” in terms of the basketball rule book. Many have argued Kobe’s 81 point scoring game is still more impressive because of the way he got the 81 points. For those who were watching the Miami against Wizards game, it appeared as if the last 7 minutes or so of the fourth quarter were no longer even a “basketball game” but rather just a push to get Bam the scoring record.

Regardless of the narratives surrounding the record and how it was obtained, Bam Adebayo’s name now is etched into the record books forever.

Wilt, Bam and Kobe.

That’s now the list of the top 3 most points scored in a single game in NBA history.