Bam Adebayo made history on Tuesday night.
The Miami Heat center dropped 83 points against the Washington Wizards, passing Kobe Bryant’s 81-point performance for second on the all-time list for points in a single game. Adebayo’s performance stunned the sports world, drawing praise from A’ja Wilson (his girlfriend), LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and more.
Even with Adebayo having the game of his life, he was still 17 points short of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point performance in a 1962 contest between the then-Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knicks. Chamberlain outscored his Warriors teammates by 31 points in the 169-147 win, in addition to grabbing 25 rebounds for good measure.
Adebayo’s incredible game brought to mind more incredible single-game performances like Chamberlain’s. Here are some of the best showings from American professional sports.
MLB
Shohei Ohtani, 2024: 6-for-6, three HRs, two SBs, 10 RBIs
Ohtani is MLB’s biggest star right now for good reason. In 2024 against the Miami Marlins, Ohtani put together a master class for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting three home runs, knocking in 10 runs and stealing two bases in a 6-for-6 performance. His performance made him the first-ever player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season.
Tom Cheney, 1962: 21 strikeouts, 16 IP, 228 pitches, 1 ER
Max Scherzer, Kerry Wood and Roger Clemens might have struck out 20 batters each in nine-inning games, but what Cheney did in a 1962 game against the Baltimore Orioles might be even more impressive. The Washington Senators pitcher pitched the equivalent of almost two full games, giving up only one run in 16 innings and striking out an MLB-record 21 batters. The most incredible thing? Cheney had only 345 strikeouts in his eight-season career, meaning 6% of his total strikeouts came in this one record-setting performance.
NBA
Wilt Chamberlain, 1962: 100 points, 25 rebounds
No footage of this game has been found, and Hershey Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania was only about half full. In a way, that makes it even more legendary. Chamberlain had 69 points through three quarters, and in the fourth — in a scene reminiscent of Adebayo and the Heat — his teammates kept feeding him the ball until he hit 100 points. Until Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006, no NBA player had come within 20 points of Chamberlain’s record.
WNBA
Liz Cambage, 2018: 53 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks
Cambage and A’ja Wilson (who was on hand to cheer on Adebayo as he scored 83) share the record for points in a single game with 53. Cambage just beat out Wilson’s total 2023 statline (53 points, seven rebounds, four blocks) with her performance for the Dallas Wings against the New York Liberty in 2018.
NFL
Norm Van Brocklin, 1951: 554 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown
In the first game of the 1951 season, Norm Van Brocklin had the game of his life. The Los Angeles Rams quarterback threw for an astounding 554 passing yards and accounted for six total touchdowns, including two to running back Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch. Brocklin’s 554 yards has stood as a single-game record for 75 years.
Flipper Anderson, 1989: 336 receiving yards, one touchdown
Every time Flipper Anderson touched the ball in a 1989 contest between his Rams and the New Orleans Saints, something incredible happened. Anderson accounted for 336 of quarterback Jim Everett’s 454 passing yards in a 20-17 win, with 40 of those yards coming in overtime.
Adrian Peterson, 2007: 296 rushing yards, three TDs
A thousand rushing yards is a pretty good season for any running back. Peterson recorded almost 30% of that total in a single game. In the Minnesota Vikings‘ 35-17 win over the then-San Diego Chargers, Peterson accounted for 55% of his team’s total yardage just on the ground — not to mention a single 19-yard reception that brought him to 315 yards total.
NHL
Darryl Sittler, 1976: 10 points
Though he fell short of the single-game record for most goals (seven, by Joe Malone in 1920) or assists (also seven, by Billy Taylor Sr. in 1947 and Wayne Gretzky in 1980, 1985 and 1986), Sittler’s six-goal, four-assist performance for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins remains the record for most points in a single game.
ESPN Research contributed to this story.
