Bam and A’ja, basketball power couple, now with shared distinction

There are very few people in the world who could understand what Bam Adebayo was feeling on Tuesday night.

He just happens to be the boyfriend of one of them.

So it was appropriate that after Adebayo had 83 points, the second-highest scoring performance in NBA history, A’ja Wilson joined him on the podium to share in the commemoration — just as Adebayo had shared in her moment with a surprise presentation of her fourth WNBA MVP trophy.

No active player in their respective leagues has ever scored more points in one game than Adebayo and Wilson.

Adebayo with 83.

Wilson with 53.

Adebayo has credited Wilson, the Las Vegas Aces star, for quite a bit of his continued success since they publicly revealed their relationship, and he did again Tuesday. (Heat fans have noticed the improvement in his play around the baseline, which is a Wilson specialty). This time, he credited for her what she didn’t do, which was be present when he reached the 10,000 career point milestone on Sunday, only the second player — behind Dwyane Wade — to ever do so.

He knew he needed to do something else special for her.

“She’s been gone a week,” Adebayo said. “She was complaining I got my 10,000th point and she wanted me to wait. To have 83 the first game she’s here is special.”

He called their workouts and conversations “very motivating.”

“You see what she does,” Adebayo said. “You get inspired every day by that. Thankful to have her in her my life…. She’s going to cry, by the way.”

The BTS/workouts/convos, they’re very motivating. You see what she does. You get inspired every day by that. Thankful to have her in my life… she’s going to cry, btw.”

“No, I’m not,” Wilson said, laughing.

But she had more to say than that.

She was nervous to come out of the tunnel at one point late in the game, for fear that changing her position would hurt Adebayo’s flow.

“I didn’t want to mess up any mojo,” Wilson said. “We are two of the most routine-people ever. And I’m just like, all right, if I’m not in my seat, he’s doing pretty well. And I remember, I sat down and you missed your free throw, and I was like, all right let me go back to the back. But at the same time, I wanted to just be there to show my support.”

She did. And at the end, it was seeing her and his mother that made him most emotional, as the celebration continued beyond the final buzzer.

“But this has just been an incredible game, obviously, but journey for Bam,” Wilson said. “Witnessing it first hand, the highs and the lows of it, it’s been so much fun. And I know he says that I’m his inspiration, but I don’t think he has a clue how much he inspires me to continue to be the person that I am — but to show up for him, that’s my biggest goal, is always just to be present and show up for him. I was a little mad that you got your 10k when I wasn’t here. But you made up for it. God is really special for him. And God doesn’t play about Bam.”

Now, with his signature moment and his team moving into the top five in the East, Adebayo will continue his journey, trying to do what Wilson just did with her own team, in his presence — win a championship. That won’t easy, but no one thought the 14th overall pick in the 2017 draft, one known for his defensive gifts, would ever score 83 points in a single game.

Wilt. Bam. Kobe.

With the second getting an assist from A’ja.