Former All-Star Gordon Hayward questioned the legitimacy of Kobe Bryant's 60-point farewell game, saying the context of the matchup was different since both teams were already out of playoff contention.
A historic scoring night by Bam Adebayo recently brought back discussion about some of the biggest individual performances in NBA history.
Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward
Position: SF
Age: 35
Height: 203 cm
Weight: 94 kg
Birth place: Indianapolis, United States of America
The Miami Heat star exploded for 83 points against the Washington Wizards, delivering one of the highest scoring games ever recorded in the league. The performance moved Adebayo past the famous 81-point game by Kobe Bryant against the Toronto Raptors. Only Wilt Chamberlain and his legendary 100-point game still stand above it.
While the debate about record scoring games continues, former NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward recently shared an interesting perspective about Bryant's iconic 60-point final game.
"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.
Credit Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Even though he questioned the context of the game, Hayward also made sure to highlight Bryant's incredible closing moments.
"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.
Hayward was part of the Utah Jazz roster that faced the Los Angeles Lakers on the night Bryant ended his career with a massive scoring performance.
Bryant finished his career with 60 points against Utah, one of the most memorable farewell games in NBA history.
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