Bam Adebayo scored more points in a game than anyone in NBA history besides Wilt Chamberlain on Tuesday night, posting a whopping 83 points in the Miami Heat’s 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards.
In the process, Adebayo topped Kobe Bryant’s historic 81-point outburst from 2006 and scored the second-most points in a game in NBA history. Only Chamberlain, who holds the single-game record with 100 points, has scored more. Adebayo also passed LeBron James for the Heat’s single-game franchise record — James scored 61 in 2014; Adebayo passed him before the fourth quarter — before moving into a higher echelon of NBA history, becoming the 11th player to score 70 points.
70-point games in NBA history
|
Wilt Chamberlain |
1962 |
36-63 |
— |
28-32 |
100 |
|
Bam Adebayo |
2026 |
20-43 |
7-22 |
36-43 |
83 |
|
Kobe Bryant |
2006 |
28-46 |
7-13 |
18-20 |
81 |
|
Wilt Chamberlain |
1961 |
31-62 |
— |
16-31 |
78 |
|
Luka Dončić |
2024 |
25-33 |
8-13 |
15-16 |
73 |
|
David Thompson |
1978 |
28-38 |
— |
17-20 |
73 |
|
Wilt Chamberlain |
1962 |
29-43 |
— |
15-19 |
73 |
|
Wilt Chamberlain |
1962 |
29-48 |
— |
15-25 |
73 |
|
Wilt Chamberlain |
1962 |
29-48 |
14-18 |
72 |
|
|
Damian Lillard |
2023 |
22-38 |
13-22 |
14-14 |
71 |
|
Donovan Mitchell |
2023 |
22-34 |
7-15 |
20-25 |
71 |
|
David Robinson |
1994 |
26-41 |
1-2 |
18-25 |
71 |
|
Elgin Baylor |
1960 |
28-48 |
— |
15-19 |
71 |
|
Joel Embiid |
2024 |
24-41 |
1-2 |
21-23 |
70 |
|
Devin Booker |
2017 |
21-40 |
4-11 |
24-26 |
70 |
|
Wilt Chamberlain |
1963 |
27-38 |
— |
16-22 |
70 |
Adebayo played 42 minutes and went 20 of 43 from the floor and an astounding 36 of 43 from the free-throw line. His 36 makes and 43 attempts from the charity stripe both set NBA records. Adebayo, the first player to score 70-plus points in a game while shooting below 50% from the field, also connected on seven 3-pointers on 22 attempts.
He got off to an incredible start and had 31 points in the first quarter, another franchise record, nearly matching his previous season-high of 32. His 31-point first quarter was the NBA’s highest-scoring quarter since Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 in a quarter in 2022.
By halftime, Adebayo had 43, surpassing his previous career high (41) for an entire game. Per ESPN, Adebayo became the first player with at least 12 made field goals, 12 made free throws and five made 3-pointers in a single game since Bryant (18 FGs, 13 FTs, six 3s) did it in the second half of his 81-point game against Toronto in 2006.
Adebayo kept racking up points after the break, and eventually the team made the decision to let him go for a record-setting number. He remained in the game until the final minute despite the Heat’s huge lead as the team actively schemed to get him more opportunities in garbage time. It paid off as he passed Bryant to put himself in rare company in the NBA record books.
