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Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies in February 2026
Headlines across the NBA on Tuesday night were dominated by Bam Adebayo’s historic scoring explosion, as the Miami Heat star poured in 83 points to surpass a long-standing record held by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.
Adebayo’s performance was two points higher than Bryant’s iconic 81-point outing against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.
The Heat big man’s effort now stands as the second-highest single-game scoring total in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point performance in 1962.
Lakers Fans React as Adebayo Surpasses Kobe Bryant’s Record
Prior to the Lakers’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team’s PA announcer informed the crowd that Adebayo had passed Bryant’s record.
“A rather melancholy footnote in NBA history occurred,” the announcer said. “Miami Heat-Washington 150-129, in that game Miami forward Bam Adebayo scored 83 points.”
The announcement was met with loud boos from the Lakers crowd before Los Angeles went on to secure a 120-106 victory over Minnesota.
Luka Doncic once again led the Lakers with a 31-point triple-double, the 89th of his career. He added 11 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals and one block.
The Slovenian superstar shot 11-of-24 from the field, 4-of-12 from three-point range and converted 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Austin Reaves matched him with 31 points of his own, along with seven rebounds and eight assists. Reaves shot 10-of-20 from the field and knocked down four three-pointers.
DeAndre Ayton added 14 points and 12 rebounds, while LeBron James missed his third straight game due to injury.
The Lakers have now gone 13-8 this season without James in the lineup, with Doncic and Reaves holding a 10-2 record as a duo in games the 41-year-old has missed.
Los Angeles improved to 40-25 on the season with its third straight win and sixth victory in the past seven games.
The result pushed the Lakers up to the fourth seed in the Western Conference, tied with the Timberwolves.
However, while Los Angeles sits just half a game behind the Houston Rockets in third, the Phoenix Suns remain only two games back in the play-in zone, leaving little room for error as the regular season enters a crucial stretch.
Bam Adebayo Delivers Historic 83-Point Performance
In Miami’s win over the Washington Wizards, Adebayo came out firing, scoring 31 points in the opening quarter alone before reaching 43 by halftime.
He finished the third quarter with 62 points before eventually surpassing Bryant’s historic mark and ending the night with 83.
The 28-year-old shot 20-of-43 from the field, 7-of-22 from three-point range and an incredible 36-of-43 from the free-throw line.
His free throws made and attempted both set new NBA single-game records. The previous attempts record of 39 was held by Dwight Howard, who reached that mark twice in his career.
The previous record for free throws made in a single game was 28, set by Wilt Chamberlain and Adrian Dantley, a mark Adebayo comfortably surpassed.
He also set a new franchise record for the highest-scoring game in Miami Heat history, surpassing LeBron James’ 61-point performance in March 2014.
Adebayo now holds the highest single-game scoring total in the NBA this season, passing Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who previously held the mark with 56 points.
While Bryant’s iconic performance for the Lakers has long been one of the league’s most celebrated individual scoring feats, Adebayo’s remarkable night now sits alongside it in NBA history, creating a moment that quickly sent shockwaves across the league.
Matt Evans is a sports journalist from the United Kingdom, based in Paris, with over a decade of experience covering the NBA and wider global sport. More about Matt Evans
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