Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo attended the ESPY Awards on Wednesday after being nominated for Best Single-Game Performance thanks to the 83 points he scored against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2026, at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Adebayo’s outburst moved him past Kobe Bryant’s 81-point effort in 2006 for the second-highest single-game total in NBA history, leaving only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game ahead of him. Speaking with ESPN on the red carpet, Adebayo said standing alongside Bryant in the record book felt “truly special.”
“I feel like everybody is a fan of Kobe, and to have my name cemented next to him, doing something not a lot of people can do, is truly special,” Adebayo told the network. “It’s 83 points in an NBA game.”
Stacked ESPY category
The best single-game field also featured Baylor baseball player Tyce Armstrong, who tied an NCAA record by hitting three grand slams in one game, and Notre Dame women’s basketball guard Hannah Hidalgo, who set an NCAA mark with 16 steals. The trophy ultimately went to Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani, honored for his playoff performance against the Milwaukee Brewers in which he pitched six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and hit three home runs.
Questions and Kobe connection
While Miami intentionally fouled late in a lopsided game to extend Adebayo’s scoring chances, the 26-year-old will remain in the record books with the NBA’s second-highest total. Asked what Bryant might have told him about the feat, Adebayo replied, “He’d probably say, ‘Do it again.’” He added that sharing statistical territory with a childhood idol was “a surreal moment.”
Source: LakersNation.com
