On Tuesday night, Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against the Washington Wizards.
Adebayo’s big game surpassed Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game and marked the second-best individual performance in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. After dropping 83 points, Adebayo became the highest-scoring living NBA player.
It is a moment worth celebrating. Surely that meant something to Adebayo, who was hunting a basket against one of the worst teams in the NBA on a Tuesday in March.
But that last part is exactly why Adebayo doesn’t get all the flowers for this feat. That’s partly because his 83-point game is problematic for the NBA.
The Wizards deserve relegation.
Seriously.
Of course, the NBA has evolved over the years. There are a lot of players in the league who can score 50, 60, 70, and certainly 80+ points on any given night. But on the list of players who could surpass Bryant’s 81 points? Adebayo’s name is pretty far down that list.
A 31-point first quarter gave hope for this feat Tuesday evening. But it shows that the Wizards aren’t even trying to win games at this point in the season.
With the loss, Washington fell to 16-48. There are 2 losses left until the 50th loss of the season. Unfortunately for the NBA, the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings have already recorded their 50th loss.
The average NBA fan had no reason to watch Tuesday night’s games against the lowly Wizards and Heat. Miami is the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, but there’s no reason to believe they’ll make any real progress in the postseason.
Did Adebayo’s 83-point performance really change anyone’s belief in the Heat this season? no.
Adebayo hit 43 free throws against the Wizards. He is a great player who has proven that he is capable of amazing feats. But more than that? The Wizards were actively trying to lose the game and had no intention of stopping him even before the opening tip.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will likely step in this offseason to address the NBA’s tanking issues. It’s a difficult problem. But a team like the seemingly perpetually bad Wizards has to find a way to get off the mat.
Adebayo deserves the spotlight for what he accomplished Tuesday night.
But let’s not assume this feat is similar to what Bryant did when he scored 81 points.
