Gordon Hayward draws a firm line in the sand between Kobe Bryant and Bam Adebayo

Bam Adebayo made NBA history the other night, scoring 83 points, which is good for the second-highest individual scoring output in NBA history, surpassing NBA legend and former Jazz enemy Kobe Bryant in the process, who put up 81 points almost 20 years ago.

Adebayo's performance has drawn plenty of ire, as many believe that, despite his legendary output, the circumstances prevent it from being considered an all-time performance. Among the critics of Adebayo's night is former Jazz star and parish Gordon Hayward.

Hayward recently appeared on ESPN's Unsportsmanlike, where he believes Adebayo's performance reflects more on the NBA than on Adebayo. Hayward even went so far as to say that it makes the performance "feel not legit."

In a separate appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Hayward then compared Adebayo's performance to Kobe Bryant's last game against the Jazz, which fans still remember vividly.

For anyone who doesn't, Kobe's last NBA game was against the Jazz in 2016, where he put up 50 points in a Lakers win. Hayward added that the game amounted to nothing because both teams were out of the playoff picture by then, but also made it clear that Bryant dominated the last few minutes of the game.

Back then, the Jazz-Lakers game went down to the wire before Bryant took it over one last time.

Kobe put up 50 in his last game, but what made it special, despite the Lakers being one of the NBA's worst teams, is that he looked like prime Kobe in those last few minutes, making it feel even more special to see him go out in such a retro clutch performance.

Hayward says the quiet part out loud about all-time performances

Jazz fans still have plenty of disgust for Hayward after both his departure and the fashion in which he departed, but he makes a valid point about full context whenever a memorable player performance takes place.

Bryant's last game should be remembered fondly, even though it was in a meaningless game, all things considered. Still, it was at least a game. Compare that to the Heat-Wizards game, where the final outcome had all but been decided way before Adebayo broke Kobe's record.

Let's make one thing clear: there's nothing wrong with Adebayo chasing a record because odds are, he will never get that chance again for the rest of his NBA career. When the opportunity is there to chase NBA history, you grab it.

But doing so, especially in that fashion, will lead to valid criticism. No one's criticizing Adebayo as a player, and no one can take away from the record he just set, but don't be surprised if his performance rolls some eyes when fans bring it up going forward.

For that matter, it's not like Bryant's legacy never gets questioned. The old school Jazz fans remember his disappearing act against them in the playoffs in the late 90s very well. What he and Adebayo did will always be remembered, but both will always have their detractors.