Bam Adebayo Breaks Kobe's Record by Scoring 83 Points

On Monday night, a former Kentucky Wildcat made history when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied Wilt Chamberlain’s record with his 126th consecutive game of 20+ points. Bam Adebayo wasn’t going to let SGA have all the fun.

In the middle of Conference Championship Madness in college basketball, Bam became the biggest story in basketball. Playing against the woeful Washington Wizards, the former Kentucky forward caught fire with the Miami Heat.

Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in the win over the Wizards. He surpassed Kobe Bryant’s 81-point milestone, a modern record set in 2006. Adebayo is now second to only Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points in 1962.

He made history by making 20-43 field goals, 7-22 three-pointers, and 36-43 free throws. His 36 made free throws are a new NBA record, which was previously 28, held by Chamberlain and Adrian Dantley. Adebayo also tallied nine rebounds, two steals, and two blocks before checking out with 1:08 to play.

He became just the 11th player in NBA history to score 70+ points in a game. It’s the first 70-point game in the NBA since Luka Doncic in 2024. Another former Cat, Devin Booker, reached the 70-point milestone in 2017, the first since Kobe’s 81-point night in 2006.

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83 POINTS FOR BAM ADEBAYO.

THE SECOND-MOST EVER.

Wilt: 100
Bam: 83
Kobe: 81 pic.twitter.com/5AxI6j8m35
— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2026

Bam Adebayo ties Kobe Bryants 81 point record pic.twitter.com/qXN2KzgN1w
— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) March 11, 2026

77 POINTS AND COUNTING FOR BAM 😱 pic.twitter.com/c8GwD7GH5t
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 11, 2026

BAM ADEBAYO HAS 70 POINTS.

11TH PLAYER IN NBA HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/Wa1XftkOQT
— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2026

Adebayo now holds the Miami Heat single-game scoring record, breaking a record previously held by LeBron James. He’s kind of a big deal.

After spending one season at Kentucky, Adebayo was drafted by Pat Riley to the Miami Heat, where he’s spent his entire career. He helped the Heat get to the Finals in the bubble and has three All-Star appearances on his resume. The 28-year-old entered tonight’s game averaging 18.9 points per contest. He only scored more than 30 points three times in 57 games, then had one of the best scoring performances in NBA history. Unbelievable.

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