Recently, Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo scored a whopping 83 points in a game against the Washington Wizards, surpassing Kobe Bryant's 81 points to move into second place on the NBA's all-time single-game scoring list.

However, this seemingly epic scoring spectacle did not garner unanimous praise online; instead, it attracted criticism from various quarters due to its controversial method of achievement. Former NBA star Gordon Hayward even publicly criticized it, stating that the record was "undeserved."

In a recent program, Hayward expressed strong doubts about the way Adebayo broke the record. He frankly stated, "Bam is indeed a top two-way player at his position in the league, but he is not a pure scorer."

"Letting him break Kobe's record in this way is definitely not a good thing for the entire league. When you watch the game, it feels like a pickup game with no tactics whatsoever."

Hayward's criticism mainly targeted the Heat's extreme tactics in the final stages of the game. When the game had long since entered garbage time with no suspense, the Heat even had their teammates intentionally foul to force the clock to stop in order to give Adebayo more offensive possessions.

Throughout the game, Adebayo, who usually plays inside, unusually attempted 22 three-pointers and earned a total of 43 free throw opportunities.

"To force this score against a completely tanking team with an extremely unusual playing style and a crazy number of free throws makes the whole record seem completely untenable," Hayward added.

These remarks resonated with many Kobe fans, who felt that such deliberately inflated statistics could not compare to Kobe's breathtaking 81-point performance 20 years ago.

Image source: Internet