Underdog Stories / Sports analysis & explainers

Why Kobe Bryant’s 81 Points Mattered More Than Bam Adebayo’s 83

Why is Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game considered better than Bam Adebayo’s 83? The answer lies in a comeback, a huge early lead and two very different finishes.

By Brett Hanson · Underdog Podcasts · October 22, 2026

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On January 22, 2006, the Lakers were down 18 to Toronto early in the third quarter. Kobe Bryant already had 26 points. He scored 55 more before the night was over.

Bryant won. That comeback is why Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game is often considered better than Bam Adebayo’s 83. Bryant’s scoring turned a deficit into a win. Adebayo had an astonishing night against Washington on March 10, 2026, but Miami led throughout, and as the margin grew, the final stretch became a push for the scoring record.

That difference matters. So does a detail the romantic version tends to leave out: Kobe kept scoring after the Lakers had taken control, too.

Why is Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game considered better than Bam Adebayo’s 83?

Circle The Block begins its episode “Kobe Scored 81. Bam Scored 83. Only One Mattered” with a date. Rello Desaya asks Cunda whether January 22, 2006, rings a bell. It doesn’t. Cunda guesses around another sport, then admits dates have never been his strength.

Rello remembers the game. He said he watched it during his freshman year of college and thought Bryant’s 26 points by halftime were remarkable. He had no idea what was coming.

The Lakers trailed the Raptors by 14 at the half. Early in the third quarter, that gap reached 18. Bryant scored 27 in the third and 28 in the fourth. Los Angeles won 122–104.

Adebayo’s Heat faced a different problem: how to use a player who could scarcely miss. Miami beat Washington 150–129 after leading by as many as 28. The Heat were still only 16 points ahead after three quarters, so the game was not over when Adebayo returned for the fourth. By the final minutes, though, both teams were playing around his point total.

Rello’s verdict is blunt: “I respect Kobe’s ’81 more than I respect Bam’s ’83.” Cunda agrees, while refusing to treat 83 as some small feat. Their case rests on what each player’s scoring did for his team.

How did Kobe score 81 while the Lakers came back?

Toronto led 63 to 49 at halftime. Bryant had 26 of those 49 Lakers points, which meant the team needed far more from him. Rello said the second half looked like an angry player demanding the ball. Cunda, who missed the game live, said he had watched the baskets later and wanted to go back for the whole half.

Bryant’s 27-point third quarter pulled Los Angeles ahead. He finished that period with 53, then added 28 in the fourth. The Lakers’ other players combined for 18 points in the entire second half. Bryant made 28 of 46 shots for the game, including seven three-pointers, and hit 18 of 20 free throws.

Those numbers explain Rello’s impatience with the old complaint that Bryant should have shared the ball more. When he named Bryant’s teammates, Cunda broke in: “Team? What team?” He was joking at their expense, though both hosts acknowledged those players belonged in the NBA. Their point was narrower. On this night, no one else on Los Angeles could carry the scoring load.

That does not mean every one of Bryant’s 81 points was needed to secure the win. The Lakers led comfortably late. His final two points came on free throws with 43 seconds left and Los Angeles ahead by 18. The comeback had already worked. It began, however, when the Lakers were in trouble, and his biggest burst got them out.

How fast was Bam Adebayo scoring compared with Kobe?

Adebayo got started much sooner. He scored 31 points in the first quarter against the Wizards, more than Washington’s entire first-quarter total of 29. He had 43 by halftime and 62 after three quarters. At that point, Bryant had had 26 at halftime and 53 after three against Toronto.

Cunda noticed the pace on Circle The Block. He said his mother texted him when Adebayo reached the 50s or 60s. He turned on the game and saw two things at once: a player doing something extraordinary and a team already well ahead. That was the tension for him.

“I've never seen a better example of less being more.”
— Cunda, on Circle The Block

Miami had reasons to keep feeding Adebayo before any record came into view. The Heat were missing several scorers, including Tyler Herro and Norman Powell. Adebayo made five threes in the first quarter alone. His previous career high was 41 points, so even matching that mark before halftime would have been strange enough.

He finished with 83 on 20-of-43 shooting. Seven of his 22 three-point tries went in. He also made 36 of 43 free throws, NBA single-game records for both makes and attempts. Bryant had the better shooting night from the floor; Adebayo reached a higher total with a far larger share from the foul line.

Was Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game stat-padding?

In the closing minutes, yes, Miami was helping Adebayo chase the mark. That is a fair description of what happened, though it does not erase the first three quarters.

Heat players intentionally fouled Wizards players to stop the clock and get the ball back. Washington sent extra defenders at Adebayo and fouled other Miami players to keep him from shooting. With 1:16 remaining, Adebayo made two free throws for points 82 and 83. The Heat led 150 to 126. He came out eight seconds later.

Rello called it “padding his stats.” Cunda gave the late push more room. “I ain’t mad at it,” he said, arguing that a player with a shot at a rare record would be hard-pressed to turn it down. He also pointed to teammates urging Adebayo on.

Adebayo had already scored 62. That matters. He reached that total before the fourth quarter, with Washington still within 16, so the late fouls changed how the finish felt without adding a single point to the first 62.

There is no mystery about the Heat’s aim, either. Miami’s own account describes its players fouling to preserve time. The crowd could see the target. Washington could see it. The Wizards tried to keep the ball away from Adebayo anyway.

Did Kobe chase points late in his 81-point game?

He did. With 4:52 left, Bryant hit a three, reached 70 and put the Lakers ahead 111 to 96. He kept shooting. Toronto fouled him with 2:36 left, then again with 1:47 left. At 43 seconds, Bryant sank the free throws that gave him 80 and 81.

Both finished at the line, Cunda and Rello noticed. Rello said their last four points came from free throws. Not quite. That fits Adebayo; Bryant’s final five points came at the line, starting with three free throws at 1:47.

The distinction is less neat than saying one man sought a number and the other never did. Bryant took late shots with a solid lead. The Raptors made substitutions with more than two minutes left. Los Angeles left Bryant in until four seconds remained.

Still, the road to those last free throws was different. Bryant had spent the second half erasing a real deficit. Adebayo had spent the whole game ahead, with his team later using fouls to make more possessions for him. You can value Bryant’s comeback more without asking Adebayo to apologize for scoring 83.

What do the two games say about a scoring record?

The NBA record book gives Adebayo second place with 83, behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100. Bryant’s 81 is third. There is no extra column for the score when the run began, or for how strange the last two minutes felt.

Cunda said he was upset that he missed Bryant’s game live. Rello remembered watching with a friend. Their exchange gives the comparison its human scale: one host knows the date by heart, while the other had to catch the baskets afterward. Both can still tell you why the second half stayed with them.

Adebayo’s night has a detail worth keeping beside the debate. He opened with 31 points in one quarter, then had to wait for Washington to put the ball back in play so Miami could get it to him again. Bryant’s last act was quieter. Two free throws, an ovation, and a substitution with four seconds on the clock.

The full episode of Circle The Block is on Underdog Podcasts, with the rest of the network's shows.