There was a point in not that distant NBA history where 83 points was a decent amount. Like pretty much the entire 90’s for the Knicks. That, of course, is for an entire team, for an entire game. However, this commentary isn’t about a team scoring 83 points in an NBA game. It’s about one person, one player, scoring that amount. That actually happened last night in Miami, as Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a blowout win over the Washington Wizards, who – and this should go without saying – have the worst defense in the NBA. This stat line gives Adebayo the second highest game score in NBA history, after Wilt Chamberlin’s 100 point mark in 1962. It does put him ahead of previous number two Kobe Bryant, who netted 81 in 2006. And for most of the American public that does not actively watch the NBA, it raised the question, “Who is Bam Adebayo?”
For context, Adebayo is a very good, but not transcendent NBA player, a three-time all-star who’s been in the League nine years after being picked 17th in the 2017 NBA Draft. He was averaging around 18 points a game before last night, and he was more of a defensive presence than a drop dead offensive threat. There’s other stuff, like two Olympic basketball gold medals and a max contract with the Heat. But he’s not Jokic, or SGA, or Durant. He’s not even some kind of scoring prodigy like Doncic. He’s a very good, all-star level player that, coupled with other very good players, can help a team try to win a championship.
Now, when someone scores 83 points, especially someone like Bam Adebayo, people start asking questions. Like how did this happen? Was anyone playing defense? Did anyone else try to score? Was this some kind of fix? As you can imagine, the answers depend on who you ask. Adebayo’s scoring line was unexpected, to say the least. For example, he only made seven three pointers, which seems low for an 83 point night. He also shot 43 free throws. 43. To his credit, he made 36 of them. That’s the data. There’s also the soft science. Like after Adebayo had 43 points at halftime, Heat head coach Erik Spolestra told his players to feed him the ball as much as possible. And when the Heat were up 20 in the second half, no one considered pulling Bam out, or maybe slowing down the game. Spoelstra also challenged a charging call against Adebayo late in the game with victory long at hand. So it’s not like this was just a normal basketball game and some guy ended up scoring over half of a team’s 150 points. Yes, 150. Let’s be clear, the Heat were gaming the system.
There’s a whole lot of possible tangents here, like when did the NBA become a full non-contact sport where someone gets 43 free throws in a night. And should anyone care that teams often decide that defense is just not worth it, and it’s better just to make every game look like some version of NBA Jam? These are reasonable questions, but probably simply the state of affairs in a sports culture where it’s important to a) keep games high scoring and entertaining, and b) make sure people don’t get hurt. This isn’t the 80’s.
But maybe the bigger question, or at least comment, is about the nature of sports records, especially something as both objective and subjective as a highest scoring night ever. We like to think that records like this indicate some kind of human superlative. Like if you score 100 points, you’ve objectively done something greater than anyone have ever before. But the reality is, all these kinds of marks, especially a one night scoring title, are far more contextual than absolute. Bam Adebayo had an exceptional night, no doubt. The best of his career. But was his performance the greatest in history? And if this were a playoff game where both teams actually wanted to win, could this have happened? And does it matter that the Wizards play defense like a group of hungover college kids at the rec center? I think the answers are fairly obvious. Which is why even though we can enjoy last night for what it was, I’m not going to pretend it meant more than it did. Which is why 83 points may not be as much as it used to be.
Keith Strudler is the Dean of the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. You can follow him at @KeithStrudler.
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