The LA Clippers have been playing some of the best basketball in the league over the last few months, and that continued on Wednesday night when the Minnesota Timberwolves came to town. But even with the matchup of Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Edwards, the buzz around the league was still surrounding Bam Adebayo and his monster night against the Wizards.
The Miami Heat star scored a new career-high 83 points in the Heat's win over the Wizards on Tuesday night, passing Kobe Bryant's 81-point mark for the second-highest scoring game in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain.
LA Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, who was a teammate of Kobe Bryant's with the Los Angeles Lakers and won two titles alongside the Hall-of-Famer, was asked about Adebayo's big scoring night.
“I’m happy for Bam because Bam’s a great guy,” Lue said before the Clippers-Wolves game on Wednesday night. “I had a chance to coach him on the Olympic team, and what an unbelievable guy he is. I'm happy for him and what he’s been able to accomplish. Very happy for Bam.”
Kobe Bryant scored 81 points on January 21, 2006, and that second-highest scoring game in NBA history stood for over 20 years until Bam Adebayo scored 83 points. Tyronn Lue said he believed that a player at one point or another would surpass Bryant's 81 points.
“Yeah, I thought it would come, especially the amount of threes guys are shooting now,” Lue added. “One hot night from three, it’s possible. You never know. But I thought it could happen again for sure.”
Bam Adebyo was taking a lot of heat from folks on social media over the last few days — no pun intended — due to the manner in which he reached 83 points in the final frame.
Adebayo attempted an NBA recored 43 free throws in the game, surpassing Dwight Howard's record of 39 free throw attempts in a single game. The Heat were intentionally fouling in the fourth quarter to try and put the Washington Wizards on the line while maximizing Adebayo's opportunities to score ppoints on the offensive side of the basketball.
What does Tyronn Lue think of the criticism that's been flung his way?
“I mean, he shouldn't listen to it. He scored 83 points,” Lue said with a scoff. “It's Wilt, Bam, Kobe. It doesn't matter what people are talking about or saying. It's stupid. He got the record, no matter how he did it, or second best behind 100 of Wilt. However he did it, whatever happened, he scored 83 points. That's something that's hard to do, no matter if you're playing against a high school team, a junior high team, 83 points is a lot of points. So, like I said, I'm very happy for Bam, very happy for Spo, and it was a great night for Miami.”
Even LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard congratulated Adebayo on the feat on Wednesday night.
“I didn't get a chance to see it, but it's amazing,” Leonard added. “He's a hardworking dude, he's gotten better every year. It's something to see. I'm happy for him.”
Kawhi Leonard on Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game:
“I didn't get a chance to see it, but it's amazing. He's a hardworking dude, got better every year. it's something to see. I'm happy for him.” pic.twitter.com/IEuV2PgJmR
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 12, 2026
Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game is the only game that reigns supreme over all other scoring performances, but the league is talented enough to threaten that record.
In the last 10 years alone, Adebayo has scored 83 points, Luka Doncic has scored 73 points, Damian lillard and Donovan Mitchell each recorded a 71-point game, while Devin Booker and Joel Embiid each recorded 70-point performances.
