It's only midweek, but Kentucky basketball is already making waves. Former Wildcats are stealing the spotlight with some jaw-dropping performances.
Let's start with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who kicked off the week by dropping 35 points, including a game-winner, extending his streak of 20-plus point games to an incredible 126. That ties him with none other than Wilt Chamberlain.
Yes, Wilt the Stilt. Shai has a shot to break the record against the Celtics on Thursday night.
But wait, there's more. On Tuesday, Bam Adebayo took things to a whole new level, scoring an astonishing 83 points in a single game against the Wizards.
That's right, 83 points, surpassing Kobe Bryant's legendary 81-point game from 2006. Now, only Chamberlain's iconic 100-point game stands above Bam's performance in the record books.
While those feats are hard to top, the current Kentucky Wildcats had their own moment on Wednesday. After edging out LSU 87-82 in the SEC Tournament opener, head coach Mark Pope couldn't help but joke about his team's combined score just barely topping Adebayo's solo effort.
"In the last 24 hours, we outscored Bam by four," Pope quipped. "We're proud of that.
Imagine the headlines if we scored 83. What an incredible performance by Bam.
I don't know him well, but he represents sports brilliantly. He's an incredible human being, and I'm thrilled for him."
For some of the current Wildcats, Kobe's 81-point game is a distant memory. Jasper Johnson was born in 2006, and Otega Oweh was just a toddler back then. Oweh caught the fourth quarter of Bam's game and was blown away.
"I didn’t see the whole game. I saw the fourth quarter," Oweh shared.
"It was crazy. It's amazing to see another Kentucky guy make history.
Watching it live was something special. I missed Kobe's 81-point game, so this was the next big thing."
Oweh put up a solid 23 points in Kentucky's win, and who knows? Maybe Bam's performance will fuel him to aim even higher in their upcoming game against Missouri.