Bam Adebayo Was Intimidated By A'ja Wilson's Resume. Now, His 83-Point Career High Surpasses Hers

No one expected the reigning four-time WNBA MVP to speak at the media session after Tuesday’s Heat vs. Wizards game. Then again, no one expected Bam Adebayo to explode for 83 points and surpass Kobe Bryant for second-highest single-game performance of all time.

“He says that I’m his inspiration,” A’ja Wilson told reporters backstage at Kaseya Center. “But I don’t think he has a clue how much he inspires me to continue to be the person that I am.”

Adebayo blushed furiously as Wilson said these words. The Heat forward was turning red, but in Miami’s 150-129 victory, he was beyond white-hot. Hotter, in fact, than his highly decorated girlfriend had ever been in a professional basketball game.

The highest scoring output that Wilson has put up in the WNBA was 53, a feat that she achieved back in the summer of 2023. As the Heat-Wizards game progressed, the Las Vegas Aces superstar went on Threads to post her thoughts on career highs: “Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore. but at least it gives me something to go after”

Ironically, it was Adebayo who was feeling outmatched before his romantic relationship with Wilson began. In an episode of his “Wy Network” podcast last September, Heat legend Dwyane Wade revealed that the 6-foot-9 big man was intimidated by Wilson’s accomplishments even as he admired her from afar. 

“I was with Bam at the Olympics, and we were watching our women’s team play. Bam cracks me up,” Wade recalled. “He was like, ‘Man, my little award case….I ain’t got a chance. She so cold.’”

Adebayo can hardly be blamed for thinking this way. At the time of the 2024 Paris Games, Wilson already had one of the most stacked resumes in WNBA history: two-time WNBA champion, two-time MVP, 2023 Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, five-time All-Star, the list goes on.

Adebayo was no slouch himself, having bagged two All-Star selections and an Olympic gold medal prior to his conversation with Wade. But the hardware speaks for itself: Wilson was on another level.

Yet, just months after the Paris Games, Wilson was calling Adebayo “my favorite Olympian” at her college jersey retirement in South Carolina. Over the next year, Adebayo and Wilson continued to thrive as a power couple; en route to the Aces’ conquest of the 2025 WNBA Finals, Adebayo (accompanied by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert) walked into the team’s practice facility and surprised Wilson with her fourth MVP trophy.

That’s one more accolade that underscores the gap between Wilson’s legacy and Adebayo’s track record. But, on March 10, 2026, Adebayo outshone his girlfriend for once. And that, to Wilson, was inspiring.

“Go ahead and pee in that cup my boi!” Wilson joked on Threads.