Last night, when the Washington Wizards played the Miami Heat, center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points, breaking the NBA record for most points in a modern-era game. This total broke Kobe Bryant’s record of 81 points in a single game, which happened on January 22, 2006.
Many people say Adebayo does not deserve the praise and acclaim that come with this title because the Wizards are a lower-tier team and he took plenty of free throws. How different did their record-breaking performances look?
| Kobe Bryant | Bam Adebayo | |
| 1st Quarter Points Scored | 14 | 31 |
| 2nd Quarter Points Scored | 12 | 12 |
| 3rd Quarter Points Scored | 27 | 19 |
| 4th Quarter Points Scored | 28 | 21 |
| Free Throws Completed | 18 | 36 |
| Opposing Team Record (Before Matchup) | 14-26 | 16-47 |
Clearly, Adebayo got off to a better start than Bryant did, scoring 17 more points than the 2-time NBA Finals MVP. Both players had above-average 2nd quarter performances, scoring the same number of points. In the 3rd and 4th quarters, Bryant took off and secured the Lakers’ win against the Toronto Raptors.
Adebayo completed 100% more free throws than Bryant, bringing his total score up significantly. Many argue that this metric disproves Adebayo’s record, claiming that since Bryant made fewer free throw shots, Adebayo’s skill set did not grant him his title.
The Toronto Raptors’ win percentage before their 2006 matchup against the Lakers was .35, and the Washington Wizards’ win percentage before the recent game was .254. Knowing that the Wizards are contextually worse than the Raptors, it was probably more difficult for Bryant to score than Adebayo.
