Lakers fans know Bam Adebayo cheated his way past Kobe Bryant

Boom, boom, pfft.

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points Tuesday night, the second-most points in an NBA game in history, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s iconic 81 points two decades ago.

Congratulations to Adebayo, I guess.

The way this played out was very questionable. Nothing romantic or real about it. We thought flops and fouls were made for unethical hoops, but those are just basketball infractions; Adebayo’s big night was criminal.

Tuesday’s game was marked by intentional fouls by the Heat that stopped the clock and extended the game. And it was ripe with fouls completing free throws from the Washington Wizards, an actively tanking team that got blown out, 150-129.

So no. Bryant was needed, organic 81, he wasn’t. The Lakers trailed in this game against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006 at halftime and actually needed Kobe’s 55 points in the second half to get the victory.

The Heat were up by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter, with Adebayo continuing to play pop-a-shot in the historic farce — which also moved him past LeBron James, whose 61 points in 2014 were Miami’s previous franchise record.

Now a Laker, LeBron applauded X’s efforts by writing, “BAM BAM BAM” with a bunch of fire emojis.

Lakers fans weren’t as excited, but they were hot and booing when the news of Adebayo’s 83 points was announced in Crypto.com Arena before the Lakers’ 120-106 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Honestly, it hurts,” said Erik Ortiz of Los Angeles, who was 6 when Bryant scored 81 points. “And it’s a little messed up. All those free throws? No disrespect, but it didn’t feel deserved to me.”

“A lack of respect for the game,” said Robert Horry, who played with Bryant in Los Angeles for seven seasons. “To me, don’t cheat the game. If you play like that, it’s cheating the game.”

“But,” Horry added diplomatically, “scoring 83 points is always difficult, whether you cheat the game or not.”

Lakers star Kobe Bryant scores past Toronto’s Matt Bonner on his way to scoring 81 points in the Lakers’ 122-104 victory January 22, 2006.

(Matt A. Brown / Associated Press)

JJ Redick offered her the most diplomatic of two cents: “It’s incredible what he was able to do.”

The Lakers coach described entering and seeing the Heat leading with three minutes remaining, about to win their sixth straight game and Adebayo at the free throw line (naturally).

“I told my coaching staff, ‘Ah, the Heat are rolling.’ And they kind of looked at each other and were like, “Are you kidding me right now? No, Bam is 77!’ I watched the last three minutes and… it was a different type of basketball.

Adebayo scored 31 points in the first quarter, 12 in the second and 19 in the third – a legitimately impressive career high of 62 points, and in just three quarters. Exactly the same number of points as Kobe after three quarters when coach Phil Jackson pulled him from a blowout win over Dallas a few weeks before losing 81.

But on Tuesday, Adebayo kept going, for no other reason than to increase his point total in pursuit of Kobe.

If only Adebayo, well respected by his peers and fans, could have taken over from his basketball hero while still playing regular old basketball. Lakers fans know ball; they would not have held it against him, they would have saluted him.

Heat players celebrate with center Bam Adebayo after scoring 83 points, the second-highest game total in NBA history, against the Wizards on Tuesday in Miami.

(Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press)

But Adebayo shot 3 of 8 from the field in the final period, including 1 of 6 from three-point range. And he went 14 for 16 from the line in the final quarter, bringing his free throw total to a historic 36 for 43 from the aptly named Charity this game.

There is magic, and then there are magic tricks, fabricated illusions, pseudo-witchcraft sleights of hand. This is how we should remember Adebayo’s 83. This is how we should explain this game to our children and grandchildren.

It’s not like Kobe’s 81 points aren’t going to be eclipsed. It was only a matter of time, especially given the offensive emphasis in today’s NBA.

In 2024, Luka Doncic, then a Maverick, scored 73 points in a 148-143 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. But Doncic went just 15 of 16 from the free throw line that night, and 25 of 33 from the field, including 8 of 13 from behind the arc.

Or imagine, in the future, what 7-foot-4 center Victor Wembanyama might be capable of if the San Antonio Spurs fed him offensively for a full game.

But records are made to be broken, not stolen. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters he was “caught up in the moment like everyone else, and I didn’t want to get in the way.”

Late Lakers owner Jerry Buss once described Kobe’s 81 points as “like seeing a miracle.”

Adebayo’s production seemed more mechanical than ethereal. Artificial and impure, and achieved by doing something that only slightly resembles basketball.

Lakers fans were right: Boo.