Earlier this month, Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a single game, opening up discussion as to who is the next-biggest threat to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point record.
On March 10, the Miami Heat dominated the Washington Wizards, and Bam Adebayo made NBA history with 83 points, the second-most ever behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100, and besting Kobe Bryant's benchmark of 81 points.
Immediately, questions arose as to who will be next to score 80 or more, and who (if anyone) can beat Adebayo's number.
Luka Doncic, who has a career-high of 73 points, seems to be a consensus pick. However, as the San Antonio Spurs prepare to take on the Heat on Monday, Victor Wembanyama's name has been floated.
Two former players agree: Wemby won't be the one to break the record.
Why Victor Wembanyama Will Never Score 80
Wembanyama can get to the rim with ease, dominate the paint like no one else in the league, and space the floor. It's not unfeasible to see him making a dozen 3-pointers in a single game at some point in his career, and his best mark of 50 points will certainly be crushed at some point.
However, the 33-point gap between his career-high and Adebayo's number is massive, and even though Wembanyama might be able to beat it, no one really expects him to.
"Won't happen," summed up Lou Williams on FanDuel's Run It Back. "He plays ethical basketball. I don't think he has the mentality to go out and then just put a 50 on somebody's head. Like, have we seen it thus far, where he just puts his head down, and he just dominates a basketball game? I just think ethically, he plays a style of basketball that works as a team brand. He can go rogue and go do his own thing, but you've got to have some selfishness in you to kind of get to that place. I just don't know if he's wired that way to go out and do that."
Of course, sometimes trends can be bucked. Wembanyama likes to preach about "ethical scoring" and playing a winning brand, but sometimes you get hot and run up against a team that has no plan to win.
For Adebayo, it was a perfect storm. The Wizards were tanking, he could not miss, and other top scorers like Tyler Herro and Norman Powell missed the game, putting the ball in his hands more than usual.
Even the most "ethical" hooper can be presented with a historical opportunity, but the general consensus seems to point to someone else rivaling Bam's number, and it is not being Wemby.
"If I'm picking a player to break Bam's record, it's probably not Wemby," agreed Chandler Parsons. "I don't know if the Spurs want him to do that."