MIAMI — A’ja Wilson sat out Tuesday night. The four-time WNBA MVP and Las Vegas Aces star arrived at the stadium the Miami Heat call home to see her longtime boyfriend Bam Adebayo off to a hot start and worried she would get in the way of the evening’s karma.
Eventually she settled down along the baseline.
She ended up seeing history.
Adebayo is not the most decorated player in his home country. Wilson holds that title by a wide margin. But at least he now has the highest scoring game to brag about. He scored 83 points, the second most in NBA history, in Miami’s 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards.
“I was hiding a little bit.” Wilson said. “I don’t know. I’m just nervous.”
You don’t need it. Adebayo was in the middle of his life and nothing could stop him.
Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for most points in a single game in the NBA, while Adebayo currently has the most points of any active player in his league. Wilson’s career high number is 53, the most among active WNBA players and tied for the all-time record in the league.
“I’m grateful to have her in my life,” Adebayo said.
He stayed out of trouble on Tuesday as well. Wilson has been away for a few days and wasn’t there Sunday night when Adebayo scored 24 points. This gave him 10,001 career points. Wilson wanted to be there for the milestone. Adebayo got it without her in the building.
It didn’t go over well.
“She wanted me to wait.” Adebayo said. “Having 83, her first game here, is very special. The behind-the-scenes, workouts, conversations, etc. are very motivating and I get inspired by it every day.”
So as if scoring 83 points wasn’t enough – in a game in which he set NBA records with 36 free throws and 43 free throw attempts – Adebayo got one more bonus Tuesday night. He came out of the doghouse scoring 10,000 points without Wilson.
“That person is forgiven.” she said
