Sleepless to sensational: The story behind Adnam's historic night

23 Jul 2026

Kyle Adnam turned a sleepless night of dad duties into a historic 70-point NBL1 display, strengthening his case for an NBL27 deal.

By

NBL.com.au

Kyle Adnam’s preparation for Saturday night featured bottle feeds, a crying baby and next to no sleep. His response? Go out and score 70 points.

The veteran guard poured in 43 points in the first half and another 27 in the second for Sandringham against the Northern Force, delivering a historic, record-breaking NBL1 performance.

While Adnam was never truly in doubt to play, he joked his sleepless night had him contemplating whether to take the court at all.

“Honestly, before the tip off, I was figuring out how I was not going to play in that game because I had had zero sleep. My son had been up all night, crying. I’d been on the bottle feeds,” he said on the NBL1 Show.

Currently unsigned for the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season, the 32-year-old has certainly strengthened his case for a new deal.

“I guess when the game started, it’s like a tap, right? Like you turned it on and it was, you know, sort of coming out a little bit, making a few shots,” he said.

“I didn’t really realise I’d had a lot of points until half-time and Dave Barlow ... he’s like, ‘you’ve got 43 points.’ I was like, ‘geez, at the half I’ll take that.’

“At that point I guess you’re in such a rhythm where you know anytime you’re open you’re sort of hunting your shot and by the fourth quarter I was probably dragging it a little bit and jacking a few too many shots, but we got there. Unbelievable feeling.”

Adnam described it as one of those rare nights when everything just clicked. He drained 13 three-pointers on his way to 70 points, while also finding time to dish out nine assists.

“The first two just felt great and as soon as they went down, I sort of felt like I found my rhythm,” he added.

“And then obviously (I) saw them in the drops coverage for a little bit and I thought, ‘This is perfect. I’ll be able to get a few more up here.’

“You just get in that flow state. I know athletes talk about it a lot, but it’s just something that you get in the rhythm and then it’s hard to turn the tap off.”