Recently, Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo etched his name into the NBA record books with an 83-point performance against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The epic performance moved Adebayo past Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant's 81-point game two decades ago against the Toronto Raptors, and he now only trails Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point output for the highest-scoring game in NBA history.
Of course, Bryant had his fair share of high-scoring games throughout his Hall of Fame career, including the final game of his run in LA, in which he scored 60 points against the Utah Jazz. One player on the court for the Jazz that night was Gordon Hayward, and recently, the former NBA wing spoke on why the Bryant 60-point game needs a bit of context.
“That game was different than any game I've ever been a part of… he took 50 shots I think, something like that, so that one was also, like, not a legitimate game. Both teams were out. We knew we weren't making the playoffs, they knew they weren't making the playoffs,” said Hayward, per SiriusXM NBA Radio on X, formerly Twitter.
However, he made sure to clarify that Bryant's feat was still impressive, despite the shot attempt figure.
“Certainly, we weren't just letting him score… his last three minutes were completely different than the last three minutes of the Miami game. His last three minutes in that game were legendary. It was like the old Kobe for three minutes,” he added.
Many have taken issue with the Heat's late-game strategy on Tuesday to get Adebayo as many shot attempts and free throws as possible, claiming that it didn't fall into the “ethical” category of scoring records.
Still, no one will be forgetting that monster game, or Bryant's 60-point career finale, anytime soon.
