Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo’s 83-point outburst on Tuesday has reminded people of the late great Kobe Bryant’s 81-point performance back in January 2006. In that game, the Los Angeles Lakers trailed the Toronto Raptors 63-49 at halftime, and Bryant, who scored 26 points in the first half, got extremely hot and allowed them to pull away in the end for a 122-104 win.
Plenty of people, especially Lakers fans, have been defending Bryant and his 81-point game ever since Adebayo scored 83 points. In fact, some have claimed that Adebayo disrespected the Black Mamba by going past 81 points in a single game.
Rashad McCants, who played in the NBA in the mid-to-late 2000s, told The Sports Rush that Bryant could’ve scored 120 or 130 points in a single game “if he wanted to.”
“There is a formula,” McCants declared. “Especially, when it comes to points per quarter, stopping the clock, shooting threes. Kobe Bryant knew this formula. He could have gotten at least 120, 130 points in a game if he wanted to.”
In Tuesday’s game, Adebayo went 20-of-43 from the field, 7-of-22 from 3-point range and 36-of-43 from the free throw line. After going 10-of-16 from the field in the first quarter, he shot under 40% from the field in each subsequent period.
By contrast, Bryant was 28-of-46 overall, 7-of-13 from downtown and 18-of-20 from the free throw line when he scored 81 points.
Back in his day, it was rare to see entire teams reach 120 points in a game. These days, of course, because of the up-tempo nature of the NBA, improved 3-point shooting and the high volume of 3-point attempts, it isn’t exactly uncommon for teams to reach 130 or 140 points in a game. When the Heat defeated the Washington Wizards in Tuesday’s contest, they scored 150 points.
If Bryant played in this era, it seems outlandish to suggest he could’ve reached 120 points in a game. But one has to wonder if he could’ve done better than the 81 points he erupted for that Sunday night back in 2006.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Rashad McCants: Kobe Bryant ‘could’ve gotten at least 120, 130 points’
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