Biggest Individual Scoring Games in NBA History: Bam Adebayo’s 83 Shockingly Overtakes Kobe

Bam Adebayo made history on Tuesday night, shocking the NBA world with an 83-point outburst against the Wizards.

The game pushed Adebayo past Kobe Bryant for the second spot on the list of all-time scoring games in NBA history, trailing just Wilt Chamberlain and his legendary 100-point game.

Wilt’s 100 lives on as essentially a legend, with just a black-and-white photo to commemorate the occasion. When Kobe dropped 81, we all wondered whether it was the closest we would ever see to someone recreating Wilt’s achievement. With his monster game, Bam gave us new reason to believe that the most miraculous games basketball has to offer are still ahead.

The 80-point club is an exclusive one in the NBA, with Bam joining Wilt and Kobe as just its third member. After the win, Adebayo was asked what it meant to pass Bryant with his historic night.

“To me it’s wondering what he’d say,” Adebayo said. “To be 83 and you pass him, my mind is like, What would he say to me? Cause I always wanted to have a conversation with him. He’ll probably say, ‘Do it again.’ Just a surreal moment being in the company with somebody you idolized growing up.”

Adebayo’s 83-point game was just the 16th time in NBA history a player has eclipsed 70 points, and he’s the first to do it since Luka Dončić and Joel Embiid both reached the mark four days apart in January 2024. Wilt is the only player to do it more than once, and he did it six times, because most Wilt stats read like tall tales.

Below is a list of every 70-point game in NBA history. Who will be next to reach the mark?

Player	Team	Points	Year
Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	100	1962
Bam Adebayo	Miami Heat	83	2026
Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	81	2006
Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	78	1961
Luka Dončić	Dallas Mavericks	73	2024
David Thompson	San Francisco Warriors	73	1978
Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	73	1962
Wilt Chamberlain	San Francisco Warriors	73	1962
Wilt Chamberlain	San Francisco Warriors	72	1962
Damian Lillard	Portland Trail Blazers	71	2023
Donovan Mitchell	Cleveland Cavaliers	71	2023
David Robinson	San Antonio Spurs	71	1994
Elgin Baylor	Los Angeles Lakers	71	1960
Joel Embiid	Philadelphia 76ers	70	2024
Devin Booker	Phoenix Suns	70	2017
Wilt Chamberlain	San Francisco Warriors	70	1963

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