Not only was he selected to the All-Star three times Bam Adebayo The 83-point outburst was unexpected and perhaps epitomized the league’s current problems with tanks and defensive incompetence, but it was also historic in many ways.
In addition to the obvious — Adebayo set a new modern NBA scoring record from behind the arc — it was also the biggest jump in a player’s career-high 42 points in NBA history. Before Adebayo scored 83 points against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2025, his career-high was 41 points, a total he scored against the Brooklyn Nets on January 23, 2021, five years before his history-making game against the Wizards.
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Adebayo took that record away from two players, one of whom was Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker. Booker’s career scoring high jumped 31 points from 39 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 11, 2016, to 70 points against the Boston Celtics on March 24, 2017.
Entering the top 3 are Kenny Lofton Jr.he tied Booker’s 31-point jump. On April 9, 2023, Lofton scored 42 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder, setting a career high. What makes this number so remarkable is that his previous career high was only 11 points. Lofton’s NBA career lasted only 45 games, with only seven of them scoring in double figures, which arguably made his 42-point night even more bizarre than Adebayo’s. (We’re kidding, but only to a point.)
biggest scoring leap
Another way Adebayo’s highlight-reel performance made history is that it was the largest scoring jump ever made by a player who has played in at least 600 games. The previous record was held by the late great Kobe Bryant… That was a mere 19-point improvement on his 81-point night. Bryant played 666 games in the regular season before his 81-point outburst, when he improved his previous career high by 19 points. For Adebayo to advance by 42 points in 625 career games is completely unheard of.
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What does that say about the current state of the NBA, especially when certain teams shamelessly mailed it out in late February? Things could get interesting, especially as some teams intentionally lose games and historic NBA records start to fall. Regardless, Adebayo’s night was a special one and should be celebrated as such.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Bam Adebayo increases his career scoring high by 42 points. This is an NBA historical record