As far as our understanding of the solar system goes, sometime in the next 5-8 billion years, the Sun will expand into a red giant, engulfing Earth and drawing it inwards towards its core, where it will evaporate and disperse into hot gas.
Far before that ever happens, perhaps way sooner than any of us care to admit, the record-holders for most points scored in an NBA game will cease to matter to anyone.
That is a pedantic and nihilistic view of things. But it’s also a good reminder that we put way too much energy and emotion into caring about whether someone like Bam Adebayo “deserves” to be the person who scored the second-most points in an NBA game, surpassing Kobe Bryant.
And my god, some folks in the sports media world lost their damn mind about that by Wednesday morning.
It’s hard to recall a time when a singular athlete’s scoring achievement has been so derided and vilified.
ESPN’s Chris Russo, predictably, ranted about the “complete disgrace” of Miami’s game plan. The Indianapolis Star’s Gregg Doyel said the achievement required “ugliness.” The Athletic’s Sam Amick said Adebayo should have stopped at 81 in order to preserve Bryant’s spot at No. 2 all-time. A Los Angeles Times commentary literally booed Adebayo in the title. And plenty of NBA podcasters and content creators grabbed their pitchforks.
The criticisms seemed to fall into several camps.
One, Adebayo doesn’t deserve credit because the Washington Wizards are terrible.
Well, guess what? The team Kobe Bryant scored 81 points on, the Toronto Raptors, sucked that season. The team that Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 against, the New York Knicks, were among the worst in the league that year.
Two, Adebayo benefited from a game plan built around getting him easy points via free throws, and the offense eventually focused on giving him as many scoring opportunities as possible.
Okay. Sure. You think no NBA team or player has ever worked the system to raise their average or set a record before? Grow up.
Finally, there is this sense that Adebayo should have respected Kobe Bryant’s legacy and allowed him to keep that all-time spot behind Chamberlain, rather than moving him down the list.
Bam Adebayo doesn’t owe Kobe Bryant anything. No one does. If Kobe’s 81-point game now being No. 3 overall takes something away from his legacy in your eyes, that’s a you problem. And if Bam stays in the game just long enough to pass Kobe on the list angers you, that’s weird. Especially when I guarantee you don’t actually remember anything about Bryant’s 81-point game. It’s a number on a list today, just like it was two days ago.
Giannis Antetokounmpo summed it up best.
“It doesn’t matter how you get there. All that matters is that you got it,” he told reporters. “Like in 30 years from now, nobody’s going to remember how many free throws he shot. I don’t think I remember how many shots Kobe had or how many free throws he made or threes. All you remember is 81. Wilt, 100. You don’t remember how they scored. So, at the end of the day, he got 83 points.”
For a guy like Adebayo, stamping your name on something like this is a great honor. Shaming him over the minutia that got him there is an admission that you are way too in the weeds when it comes to the sanctity of legacies and record books. In the parlance of our time, it’s not that deep, dawg, go touch some grass.