Bam Adebayo's 83-point game

On March 10, 2026, at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, Bam Adebayo scored 83 points for the Miami Heat in a 150–129 win over the Washington Wizards. The performance is the second-highest single-game scoring total in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962, and moved Adebayo past Kobe Bryant's 81-point game from 2006.

Bam Adebayo

Heading into the game, Bam Adebayo was in his ninth season in the NBA, and had garnered praise mostly for his role as the Heat's secondary offensive weapon and one of the best defenders in the NBA. He had earned three All-Star appearances, one All-Defensive First Team, and four All-Defensive Second Teams. Prior to this game, Adebayo was averaging 18.9 points per game and only held a career average of 15.8 points per game, with his previous career high in points being 41.

The Heat came into the game with a record of 36–29, which put them at 7th in the Eastern Conference standings. They entered the game with a five-game winning streak, and sought to reach the six-seed, which would keep them out of the NBA play-in tournament. The Wizards entered the game with a 16–47 record, which placed them at 14th in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat won the tip to start the game and Adebayo immediately got off to a hot start, scoring the Heat's first seven points over the course of the first three minutes of the game. After two free throws from Pelle Larsson, Adebayo then scored 18 of the Heat's next 20 points, with the only other scorer during that period being Davion Mitchell. By the end of the first quarter, Adebayo had scored 31 of the Heat's 40 points and had outscored the Wizards 31–29.

Adebayo started off on the bench for the first seven minutes of the second quarter, but continued his high volume scoring once he re-entered the game. He made his 7th free throw of the game with under six minutes left in the 2nd quarter, which was followed by a combined three layups and five free throws. With 41 seconds left in the first half, Adebayo had 40 points and made a layup while being fouled by Wizards small forward Will Riley to pass his prior career high of 41 points. He would make the ensuing free throw to reach 43 points before halftime.

After halftime, Adebayo scored 19 points in the 3rd quarter, bringing his total to 62. He started his scoring with a dunk in the first 90 seconds of the second half, followed by a three pointer seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. With less than four minutes left in the third, Adebayo was fouled by Tristan Vukčević and scored on both free throws, bringing his total to 57 points, surpassing the season high of 56 that was set by Nikola Jokić on Christmas. In the final minute of the third quarter, Adebayo made another dunk which put him at 62 points, giving him the all-time Heat record for points in a game, previously held by LeBron James, who had scored 61.

In the fourth quarter, the game devolved into what Wizards coach Brian Keefe called "not a real basketball game." Once Adebayo reached 70 points with nine minutes remaining in the fourth after an and-one foul from Bub Carrington, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made a concerted effort to get the ball to Adebayo to get him past Kobe Bryant's 81 point game, with Spoelstra stating two days later that they "[had] to go for it." Adebayo scored his 77th point with 3:26 remaining in the game after Spoelstra used a coach's challenge to reverse a charging foul call on Adebayo. With 2:05 left in the game, Adebayo was fouled by Anthony Gill, which was challenged by Keefe. The call on the court stood and Adebayo hit both field goals to reach 79 points.

Despite being up by 27 points, Heat players began intentionally fouling the Wizards to stop the clock and regain possession, with the first intentional foul occurring with 1:40 left in the game. To prevent Adebayo from attempting more free throws, the Wizards began fouling other players. Heat players funneled Adebayo the ball, with the Wizards countering by double-teaming, triple-teaming, and sometimes quadruple-teaming him in order to prevent him from scoring. With 1:37 left in the game, Adebayo was fouled by Jaden Hardy and scored his 80th and 81st points at the line, tying Kobe Bryant's record. With 1:25 remaining in the game, the Heat's Keshad Johnson was fouled and intentionally missed his second free throw off the front of the rim in an attempt to gain another possession for Adebayo, though the rebound was secured by the Wizards' Bilal Coulibaly. Then, with 1:16 left, Adebayo was fouled by Anthony Gill and made both his free throws to reach 83 points and take sole possession of the second highest single-game scoring effort. After an intentional foul by Kasparas Jakučionis, Adebayo was subbed out of the game to a standing ovation.

After the game, Adebayo was showered with water bottles by his teammates during his post-game interview. Norman Powell then requested the microphone from reporter Kelly Saco, and asked Adebayo how it felt to be in company with Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant.

Former Heat teammate Dwyane Wade congratulated Adebayo after the game and said, "That's my little brother, man. I'm proud of him." Rockets forward Kevin Durant commented, "I looked at the stat sheet and it was pretty crazy. [He had] 40 shots, 40 free throws, 20 3s—that takes a lot of stamina, man. ... Huge accomplishment. It will be something we talk about forever." Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, speaking with a reporter, said, "It doesn't matter how you get [to 83 points]; all that matters is that you got it. Like, in 10, 20, 30 years from now, nobody's going to remember how many free throws he shot. I don't think I remember how many shots Kobe shot or how many free throws he made or threes. All you remember is 81. Wilt, 100. You don't remember [how]. So, at the end of the day, he got 83 points, and did they win?"

76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. discredited the accomplishment by comparing it to similar high-scoring games, such as Joel Embiid's 70-point game. Former Lakers player and Kobe Bryant teammate Robert Horry stated, "83 points is impressive. But it gets to a point where you have to respect the game. And I think there were moments in this game where it was not respected." Former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward stated that Adebayo's performance would reflect poorly on the league, "I don't think it's great for the league. I think it kind of highlights how they're already struggling. It kind of feels like a pickup game when you're watching. And for him to shoot 43 free throws and 22 threes, when that's not what he does, it almost feels like... and again, the Wizards too. With all these teams tanking, it kind of makes it feel not legit, I guess, is what I would say."

After the game, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra stated it was "an absolutely surreal night." Former Celtics coach and current head coach of the Rockets, Ime Udoka commented, "First thing you think is 'how?' — not because of him, but because of the way he plays. And I saw he only made six threes but 40 free throws or something like that? Tells the story right there ... and the Washington Wizards." Former Heat head coach and current team president Pat Riley came across Adebayo in the tunnel following the game, telling him, "I would've taken you out at 70. Goddamn it! You did it!"

Adebayo, after the game, said to reporters, "I wish I could relive it twice...so this is a special moment. Wilt, me and then Kobe—which sounds crazy." On March 12, 2026, when asked about the criticism, he stated, "You should be blaming the head coach. Get that first. I was not the one letting me go one-on-one the whole game until I had 70, and then you started to send a double."

Bam Adebayo's performance garnered a mixed to positive reaction from sportswriters and fans, but a negative reaction from Lakers and Kobe Bryant fans. ESPN writer Tim MacMahon heavily criticized Adebayo, stating, "He's jacking up threes while being triple-teamed. I mean, it honestly was just awful, hideous, disgusting basketball down the stretch that I admit I was cracking up laughing while watching." Commentator Doris Burke said, "Was I slightly uncomfortable with the 6 minute mark and down with some of the intentional fouling and free throws? A little bit, but I am taking nothing away from Bam Adebayo." Television personality Stephen A. Smith lambasted the Washington Wizards, claiming, "They actually looked like they were helping Bam Adebayo capture the record", referring to Wizards players fouling Adebayo near the end of the game.

Bam Adebayo's statistics by quarter

• Also set most free throws made and attempted in NBA history (36 of 43)