Before the Miami Heat vs Washington Wizards game, most people thought this would be a routine game for the former. Even with Tyler Herro sidelined, they trusted Bam Adebayo and the rest of the team to step up.
Adebayo made sure people knew he was Miami's star, as he scored a career-high of 83 points. It is now the second-highest points total in NBA history, just over Kobe Bryant's 81 and just behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100.
Surpassing Kobe's 81 was an honor for Adebayo
For 20 long years, Kobe's 81 points against the Toronto Raptors stood tall as the highest-scoring game in the modern era. Of course, history says that Wilt's 100-point game in 1962 is the highest, but most of the NBA community has not seen that game.
Most people remember Kobe's 81-point night, as he helped the Los Angeles Lakers come back from a deficit to beat the Raptors in January 2006. Now, that total has been surpassed by Adebayo.
MORE:Comparing Bam Adebayo's 83-point game against his idol Kobe Bryant's 81-point night
During his youth, Adebayo was an NBA fan, and he idolized Kobe Bryant. Like most players from his generation, they watched and looked up to Bryant because of his mentality and his skills on the court.
"That was my idol growing up. I watched how he approached the game with that laser focus, being locked in 48 minutes of the game. When I got to the FT line, I was like 'Okay, you got 81, but you got to make these free throws,'" Adebayo said on SportsCenter.
"Being able to never meet him, in my mind, I wonder what he would say. He'd probably tell me, 'Do it again!'"
Kobe's success mostly came from his scoring, as he is the NBA's fourth-highest scorer in history with 33,643 points. Considering Adebayo just passed 10,000 and is mostly seen as a defender, this 83-point night was surprising.
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