Bam Adebayo records 83 points in a match: A statistical overview
Forty-three field goal attempts. Thirty-two successful free throws. Eighty-three points!?
On Tuesday night, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo achieved the second-highest scoring game in NBA history, surpassing Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who notably scored 81 points on January 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors. However, Adebayo’s remarkable feat still falls short of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game.
Adebayo’s complete statistics in the Heat’s 150-129 victory over the Washington Wizards include: 83 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks. He made seven 3-pointers out of 22 attempts and scored 43 points in the first half, exceeding his previous career-high of 41 points in a full game.
Adebayo established records for the most free throws made (36) and attempted (43) in an NBA game, along with setting the Heat franchise records for most points in a quarter (31), half (43), and game (83). His record-breaking performance occurred 12 years and one week after LeBron James set the former Heat record with 61 points against the then-Charlotte Bobcats.
Here’s a detailed examination of Adebayo’s extraordinary night, aided by ESPN Research:
By the numbers: Bam Adebayo’s 83-point night
• Before Tuesday’s matchup, Adebayo’s career high was 41 points. The combined total of his two highest-scoring games (41 and 38) was less than the 83 he achieved against the Wizards.
• This season, there have been 11 games in which a team did not reach at least 83 points, the most recent being last week when Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Boston Celtics 108-81.
• Adebayo becomes the 11th distinct player in NBA history to score at least 70 points in a game. The other ten include Chamberlain (six times), Bryant, Luka Doncic, David Thompson, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor, Joel Embiid, and Devin Booker.
• He is the first player this season to record a 60-point game. Nikola Jokic was the last player to achieve a 60-point game, scoring 61 in a double-overtime defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves in April.
• Adebayo is also the 12th different player to score at least 50 points in a game this season. The record for the most players scoring 50 points in a season is 14, achieved in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
• Adebayo scored 62 points through three quarters, the highest by any player since Bryant had 62 on December 20, 2005, against the Dallas Mavericks (where he notably outscored Dallas 62-61 through three quarters before not playing in the fourth).
• He recorded 31 points in the first quarter, the highest in the opening period since Kevin Love scored 34 in the first quarter for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2016.
• Adebayo is the first player in Heat history to attempt 40 field goals in a game. His 43 field goal attempts are the most for a player in a non-overtime game since Bryant attempted 50 shots in the final game of his career in 2016.
• Adebayo joins Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to have 20 made field goals and 25 made free throws in a single game.
• Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Heat’s season high for free throws made was 36, achieved on November 10 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Adebayo matched that total with 36 free throws on Tuesday night.
• He is the first player in NBA history to make 25 free throws and five 3-pointers in a game.
• Adebayo shot 20-of-43 from the field. He is the first player in NBA history to score at least 70 points while shooting less than 50% from the field.
