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‘BAM BAM BAM’: LeBron James, NBA Players React to Bam Adebayo’s Historic 83-Point Game

‘I wish I could relive it twice,’ Adebayo said postgame.
Blake Silverman|
Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against the Wizards on Tuesday.
Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against the Wizards on Tuesday. | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo scored 83 points Tuesday against the Wizards. Wait, what? Yes, really.

The Miami Heat star big man put up the second-highest single game scoring total in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s infamous 100-point game. He went 20-for-43 from the field, 7-for-22 from three-point range and 36-for-43 from the free-throw line. With the historic performance, Adebayo broke the single-game record for most free-throw attempts that was previously held by Dwight Howard. He set a Heat franchise record with 31 first-quarter points and finished the first half with 43.

In the second half, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra left Adebayo in long enough to tie and eventually break Kobe Bryant’s mark of 81 points, which Adebayo surpassed with a pair of free throws with 1:16 remaining. The scoring explosion came out of nowhere, leaving the NBA world in awe.

The league’s all-time leading scorer LeBron James was quick to post praise on his X account:

And plenty of other NBA players, both current and former, shared the same sentiment: Downright disbelief at what they just witnessed:

His girlfriend and WNBA superstar A’ja Wilson was loving every second of the historic performance, too:

And of course, the famous Chamberlain-inspired photo for Adebayo to tie a neat bow on the wild night:

“I wish I could relive it twice,” Adebayo said on the FanDuel Sports Network broadcast postgame. That likely won’t happen, but after a night like he had Tuesday, anything is possible.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.

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