Bam Adebayoentered Tuesday night averaging 20.0 points per game. He left with 83.
The Miami Heat centre delivered the highest-scoring game since 1962, torching the Washington Wizards in a 150-129 victory. Only Wilt Chamberlain's mythical 100-point game stands above him now. Kobe Bryant's 81-point masterpiece from 2006? Second place no more.
But here's what most coverage missed: the free-throw line tells the real story.
Adebayo went 36-for-43 from the charity stripe, shattering two separate NBA records in the process.
His 36 made free-throws broke a mark co-held by Chamberlain and Adrian Dantley, who each had 28 in single games. Chamberlain set the original record during his 100-point night in 1962. Dantley matched it in 1984. Neither total had been topped in 64 years.
In another record made, Adebayo's 43 free-throw attempts broke a different record entirely. Dwight Howard held that mark at 39, set on 12 January 2012 while playing for the Orlando Magic against Golden State. That record lasted 14 years.
Washington's game plan created this. The Wizards sent two, three, sometimes four defenders at Adebayo. They hacked him constantly. They fouled him on purpose. None of it worked.
'Man, I wish I could relive it twice,' Adebayo said after the game. 'I credit God, my family and my teammates, this crowd.'
His previous career-high was 41 points, set against Brooklyn on 23 January 2021. His season-high entering Tuesday? Just 32.
The gap between 41 and 83 is absurd. No player in NBA history has ever nearly doubled their career-best in one night. Adebayo broke his own record before halftime, entering the break with 43 points.
Source: International Business Times UK
