When Bam Adebayo surpassed his career-high 41 points in the first half of the Miami Heat's eventual win over the Washington Wizards, fans had a pretty good idea they would be in for something special after halftime of the otherwise inconsequential Tuesday night showdown.
As each Bam bucket went in, the game became more and more exciting, with all-time Heat records of franchise legends like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James falling by the wayside until only one, Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, remained.
While Adebayo wasn't able to reach that seemingly impossible 100-point mark, he did surpass Kobe Bryant for second overall with 83, which led one of the “Black Mamba's” all-time rivals, Dirk Nowitzki, to commemorate the occasion with a special social media post.
83?????
— Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41) March 11, 2026
A prolific scorer in his own right, who went over 50 multiple times, including for a career-high 53 against the Houston Rockets, Nowitzki was clearly excited to see another big guy turn in such an impressive effort from all over the court, with Adebayo closing out the contest shooting 20-24 from the field, 7-22 from beyond the arc, and 36-43 from the free throw line over 42 minutes of action.
Will Adebayo ever flirt with that many points in an NBA game again? Considering there have only been two other 80-point scorers in the last 70 years, that feels rather unlikely. But then again, who expected a random Tuesday night to be centered around a player putting up 83? Adebayo now finds himself in NBA history, and considering the players he's sandwiched between, that's a very good place to be.
