The NBA world is still processing Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo dropping a historic 83 points during the team’s win against the Washington Wizards, and not everybody is fan. Count Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. as someone who wasn’t very impressed by Bam Adebayo’s feat, citing his Philly teammate Joel Embiid as having a better game when he dropped 70 points, as per Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice.
“I’m just going to say this, Joel did it more efficiently and he did it in three quarters,” Oubre said.
There’s nothing wrong with Oubre standing up for his teammate, although it’s worth pointing out that Joel Embiid did, in fact, play in the fourth quarter of his 70-point performance, as Aaronson points out.
Embiid’s 70-point effort came back on Jan. 22, 2024 in a win against the San Antonio Spurs. He finished with exactly 70 points while shooting 24-of-41 (58.5 percent) from the field, 1-of-2 (50 percent) from the 3-point line and 21-of-23 (91.3 percent) from the free-throw line. He played 37 minutes.
In comparison, Adebayo shot 20-of-43 (46.5 percent) from the field, 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from the 3-point line and 36-of-43 (83.7 percent) from the free-throw line. He played 42 minutes.
Oubre has a point when he says that Embiid’s game was more efficient than Bam Adebayo. But at the end of the day, 83 points is 83 points. Adebayo is now only the third player in NBA history who can say that they scored more than 80 points in a single game.
A three-time All-Star, Adebayo has become one of the Heat’s franchise cornerstones. Following his 83-point masterclass, his points per game average on the season bumped up from the high-teens to 20.0.
