Bam Adebayo scored 83 points last night against the Washington Wizards. In direct response to this, NBA fans are at war.
The issue is this: Adebayo scored the 2nd-most points by a single player in a single game in NBA history, but it also took 36 made free throws and some questionable ethics in a blowout win to get there. In other words, the former Kentucky star was stretching to reach the 83 points, some say.
“Some,” funnily enough includes Mad Dog. Here’s what he had to say about Adebayo’s outing.
Mad Dog GOES OFF on Bam Adebayo 83 points 😬
“What Spoelstra did with the shenanigans was a complete disgrace… When you shoot 43 times and less than 50%, when you shoot 43 FTs and you go 7/22 from 3 against a horrendous team, and you’re in the game in the last 3 minutes with… pic.twitter.com/j1HkniJ9jS
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) March 11, 2026
Colin Cowherd disagrees. He, accurately, pointed out that as soon as there’s success, people will try to tear it down… no matter how that success manifested. Cowherd claimed that Wilt Chamberlin and Kobe Bryant, who own and owned the No. 1 and 2 spots before Adebayo’s huge game, did some stretching of their own to reach their totals (100 and 81).
In other words, “83 is 83.” Hear his full argument below.
As you can imagine, social media is just as divided. A few players and coaches even chimed in. Here’s a look at some of the best divided reactions we found:
A guy dropped 83 points in an NBA game and all I see are people going great lengths to discredit it.
I enjoy basketball so idk… I thought it was pretty cool!
— Zach Langley (@ZachLangleyNBA) March 11, 2026
This Bam Adebayo shit is the most unethical thing I’ve ever watched. Intentionally fouling up 30 in the 4th quarter multiple times to get the ball back and throwing yourself into guys to get more free throws? This isn’t basketball. Legitimately one of the lamest things I’ve seen
— Will Rucker (@Will_Rucker3_AD) March 11, 2026
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg defends Bam Adebayo and says the ending of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game had a lot of fouls too
“For people on Twitter saying they made the end of that game bad — you never saw the end of that game in 1962 (Wilt). A similar thing happened that same… pic.twitter.com/a5vJs0TO3r
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 11, 2026
Ime Udoka on Bam Adebayo's 83 point night:
"First thing you think is how…… not because of him but because of the way he plays. I saw he only made 6 threes but 40 free throws or something like that, tells the story right there and………….. the Washington Wizards." pic.twitter.com/PScqMKHBPv
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) March 11, 2026
Giannis Antetokounmpo on Bam Adebayo's 83 point game:
"It doesn't matter how you get there. All that matters is that you got it. Like in 30 years from now, nobody's going to remember how many free throws he shot. I don't think I remember how many shots Kobe had or how many free… pic.twitter.com/XejycjSKiM
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) March 11, 2026
We just gotta unanimously agree that Wilt dropped 100. The theory was cool when Kobe was the runner up but no way am I ever accepting the idea that Bam Adebayo had the greatest game in the history of the sport.
— OG Anunoby Addict (@PlayoffBoundNYK) March 11, 2026
"It ain’t [Bam’s] fault that the Washington Wizards are trash. … I'm not blaming Bam Adebayo for that. Congrats to him. It's his moment."
—@stephenasmith on Bam Adebayo's 43 free throw attempts in his 83-point performance 🏀 pic.twitter.com/vEEFAxwHKh
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 11, 2026
As it currently stands, Miami has an 81% chance to reach the postseason. Here’s a full look at the top odds:
Ethan Stone
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.