Bam Adebayo does not belong above Kobe Bryant

There’s nothing not to love about Bam Adebayo. He’s an amazing basketball player, by all accounts super solid off the court, and one-half of my favorite celebrity couple along with his current girlfriend, A’ja Wilson. But he does not belong between Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bean Bryant on the list of players with the most points in an NBA game.

It ain’t Bam’s fault. When looking for explanations for his shocking and somewhat perplexing explosion, let’s just charge it to the game.

Adebayo’s 83 points on Tuesday night against — wait, we’ll get to the “opponent” later —  places him second on one of the most important lists in the basketball world. First is Chamberlain with 100 points. Until Tuesday, Bryant was second with 81 points. 

At that point, all was as it should have been. Chamberlain is among the most dominant players ever. Bryant is one of the most skilled, diabolical and greedy. Wilt and Kobe at 1-2 on the buckets list went together like Nas and DJ Premier, Black Panther and Killmonger, or Barack and Michelle. They just make sense.

Along comes Adebayo. Let’s call him the Large Professor of this mix, the General Okoye — Eric Holder, if you will. All among the best to ever do it, but not eligible for Mount Rushmore. 

I applaud and respect each one of Adebayo’s 83 points. It takes a lifetime of work, dedication and practice to drop 83 in the best league in the world. The flood of public praise from his peers was well deserved. Who am I to argue with KD or Lou Will?

But in this case, 83 < 81. 

It has never been easier to score in the NBA than it is right now. The modern game has evolved, from elementary school on up. These transformations — in rules, strategy, technology, equipment, compensation, objective and mentality — make it way easier to get a bucket now than when Bryant broiled the Raptors in 2006, or Wilt walloped the Knicks in 1962.

The game done changed. 

There was no 3-point line when Chamberlain dropped a Benjamin. He shot 36-for-63 from the field and 28-for-32 on free throws, adding 25 rebounds just because. Wilt’s Philadelphia Warriors beat the Knicks 169-147.

Bryant went nuclear for the Lakers as they overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit to beat Toronto 122-104. Kobe shot 28-for-46 from the field, 7-for-13 from 3-point range and 18-for-20 at the line. He scored 55 in the second half.

Adebayo went 20-for-43 from the field, 7-for-22 from 3 (gulp) and 36-for-43 (WTF) from the free-throw line. Miami committed take fouls down the stretch to get Bam the ball back. His Heat blew out the Wizards 150-129.

Yup, another asterisk alert: “The Washington Wizards.”

The Raptors were trying to beat the Lakers when Kobe had 81. The Wizards, for the last several seasons, have been trying to lose. Losing on purpose to get a better draft pick has reached such new-age NBA proportions that people are seriously talking about eliminating the draft altogether. (I’m with it.)

I’m not saying that woeful Washington purposely let Adebayo score. (Well…somebody check with DraftKings.) But when you lose on purpose for years, like Washington has, it sucks a certain amount of resistance out of a team. Jalen Rose would never.

Unlike some of the league’s shameful foul-baiters, Adebayo wasn’t committing crimes against the spirit of the game. He really got fouled on his NBA-record 43 free throws. At the same time, they call fouls these days for looking hard at a guy. Adebayo’s game was formed in an environment that, in pursuit of more viewers and TV money, handcuffs defenders and incentivizes moves that bring you into contact with them.

Credit to Adebayo for relentlessly attacking the rim and creating contact. But not that long ago, the contact would have been his body hitting the floor. Just as yesterday’s touch is today’s foul, the hard fouls that used to keep guys away from the basket are now flagrants and ejections. 

For better or for worse — the game done changed.

A faster pace means more possessions, shots and points. Nerds, consider the comments open for your analytics. Today’s skill level is higher. All kinds of wild scoring numbers are out there: 70-plus from Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard, and Donovan Mitchell; 60 or more by Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, Jalen Brunson, De’Aaron Fox, Stephen Curry, and Nikola Jokic. Did I forget someone? Some guy on a 10-day probably dropped 55.

Today’s 60 is yesterday’s 40. Adjusting for inflation, that makes 80 the new 50. That puts Adebayo, as terrific as his performance was, where he doesn’t belong.

I’m not a hater, I just hoop a lot. Shout to Adebayo, and I hope he enjoys his No. 2 spot — because it isn’t safe. Neither, I predict, is the sacrosanct 100-point throne. Lurking in the rear view is living proof that the game done changed, which should make everybody ask:

What will Wemby do?

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