Why is it so much easier for us to see the bad in things rather than the good? You know that I’m a fan of highlighting the beautiful things instead of looking for mistakes. Last night, Bam Adebayo dropped 83 points in the home game against the Wizards, therefore becoming the player with the second most points in an NBA game behind Wilt Chamberlain, pushing Kobe Bryant and his historic 81-point game down to third place.
It feels like hardly anyone is happy for him. But why is that? People bring up the fact that it was against a bad tanking team, that there were too many free throws instead of field goals. But why were there so many free throws? Especially the social media world, which right now is the loudest in raising its voice saying that it bothers them that someone can score 83 points with “a game like that”, most of them very likely didn’t even watch the full game.
Toward the end, Bam constantly had three or sometimes even four defenders on him trying to stop him from scoring. Of course that leads to fouls quickly. And we are simply living in times where fouls are called differently than they used to be. You can find that annoying, but that’s not Bam’s fault and it doesn’t diminish the performance. And if it was that easy, we would see players getting close to that much more often.
My take: What bothers most people is that Kobe, who for many is simply their idol, their legend, has now been pushed down to third place and Bam simply isn’t the big name, the huge fan favorite like Wemby, A.E., LeBron, etc.
I’m genuinely happy for Bam and I simply find it impressive how he has developed over the years – from a big who came into the league to protect the rim in the paint and collect rebounds, to someone who now also gives you scoring.
The fact that Bam and A’ja are now the two active players with the most made points in the league is simply a nice fact. Nothing but love for both of them. And while we’re already on the topic of love: I experienced nothing but love and appreciation in the past few weeks.
In my last column I mentioned that I was just about to leave for Berlin for the first NBA regular season game in Germany. I know, I know, I should have given an update here much earlier, but one event followed the next. After the Berlin game came the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, and after ASW I went straight to Cleveland, where I still am right now.
But first things first. If I thought I knew my maximum capacity, these last two months demanded a completely different level from me. I don’t even want to know how many times I had to fly back and forth during those eight weeks between the U.S., Germany and the eastern part of the world (Cape Town, Bangkok, Mauritius). And in the confusion of my internal clock, not even knowing when I was supposed to sleep, there were also interviews with Franz and Moritz Wagner, GG Jackson, Dwight Howard, Cedric Coward, Derik Queen, Kon Knuepple, Yanic Niederhauser, Brandon Ingram, Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Schröder. Then came live hits, press conferences, podcasts, pre recorded shows and far too many nights without even a minute of sleep while I was flying through the skies as a flight attendant.
The funny thing about it: every time I think I’ve reached my limit, I realize it keeps going and going. And I notice how much more I’m capable of, how quickly we limit ourselves because at first something seems way too big from a distance. But once you go through it, one stone falls into place after another.
I can only tell you: be brave, don’t believe that tasks are too big for you. You grow with the task. And the whole spectacle was crowned by the fact that I was one of only eight people who were part of the voting committee to vote for the All-Star MVP. Yes, hard work combined with passion for what you do always pays off.
Which brings me to the next topic: Cleveland.Last season, in the playoffs, we saw that the Cavs team that first impressed us so much during the regular season with a 15-0 start set a historic franchise record. They led the league and by March 2025 had a record of 55 wins and 10 losses, which marked the best start in franchise history.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished the 2024/25 regular season with an impressive record of 64 wins and 18 losses, securing first place in the Eastern Conference. However, things looked very different in the playoffs. During the exit interviews, among others Donovan Mitchell spoke about how the team lacked that “dog mentality.” Talent is not everything – you also have to want to win at all costs.
At the most recent trading deadline we saw several trades on the Cavs’ side, and with the addition of James Harden as well as Dennis Schröder they brought in exactly two personalities who add that spice to perfectly tune the recipe for the playoffs. As I briefly mentioned earlier, I am currently in Cleveland to take a closer look at everything. I’ve already seen two games and on Sunday the last one follows against the Mavs before heading back to Germany. After the win against the 76ers on Monday, I was able to talk with Dennis exactly about this topic: whether this might also be one of the reasons why the fit for him here in Cleveland works so well, because he brings exactly that.
“I think so. It’s a winning organization. There are people and characters in the locker room who want to win – and I’m happy to be part of this group. After such a demanding and difficult start in Sacramento, this here is the best thing that could have happened to me.”
I’m always impressed by how Dennis manages to adapt so quickly to new teams. All the experience he has been able to collect during his long time in the NBA and through the different systems and approaches of the teams he has been part of, and the way he always gives everything and faces every challenge no matter how difficult – I really hope it pays off and that we see the Cavs at least in the Conference Finals.
Another highlight was that Alex Mumbrù was at both games to check on how Dennis is doing. I saw him sitting courtside on Saturday during the game against the Celtics and simply approached him, since we still had two live hits with Sky Sport. I thought I’d just ask if he would like to join the live broadcast. Asked and done – Alex then joined us post-game. Being able to hear his thoughts and impressions was, of course, a huge added value.
I’m always overwhelmed by what I get to experience. But this moment could also only happen because you dare to ask. So what do we learn again: always be brave. Nothing worse than a “no” or that it doesn’t work out in the end can happen. But if you don’t ask, you’ve already lost. As worn-out as that sentence may sound, it’s still very true.
That’s it from me for now. I’m going to enjoy two more days off here in Cleveland and I can tell you one thing: Cleveland really isn’t as shitty as many people always say. I’ve actually already found some really nice spots here. Playoffs in Cleveland can come – I’m ready.
Yours,
Flight Girl
