Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) hugs head coach Erik Spoelstra during the second half of a basketball game after he scored 83 points against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Kaseya Center in downtown Miami. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has no regrets on allowing center Bam Adebayo to pursue history on Tuesday.
“I apologize to absolutely no one,” Spoelstra said before Thursday night’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center, addressing outside criticism that the team manipulated the game to get Adebayo to 83 points on Tuesday. “Period.”
Even with the Heat ahead by double digits for the entire second half and pushing its lead up to 28 points with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter on the way to a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday at Kaseya Center, Spoelstra allowed Adebayo to play the entire second half before pulling him from the game with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter.
With Adebayo scoring 43 points in Tuesday’s first half and entering the fourth quarter with 62 points, Spoelstra let him chase history. Adebayo took advantage, scoring 83 points for the second-highest scoring individual performance in NBA history.
“I’ve seen people say, you’ve got to be a purist,” Spoelstra continued. “I’m a Darwinist in this league. Really, you can do anything you want in this game. You can approach it however you want. If we get criticized for what we do, there was probably irony in these two organizations. There’s nothing wrong with what [the Wizards are] doing. If you can tank and get a great draft pick, I don’t care. Like, you can do anything you want in this league. You can approach it however you want.
“We don’t do that and we have a 14th pick do something that you’re trying to get out of the No. 1 pick. I’ve seen teams hack a Shaq. Debate it or not debate it, who cares? You can do whatever you want. You foul three-point shooters, not foul three-point shooters. You can take the last shot in the game that’s already over or don’t take it. Who gives a damn? Like, you’re allowed to do what? I don’t even believe in that.”
With rotation regulars Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Kel’el Ware and Andrew Wiggins out due to injuries on Tuesday, Adebayo came with an ultra-aggressive mindset totaling 31 points in the first quarter on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range and 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line. Not only did this set a franchise record for the most points by a Heat player in any quarter, but it also marked the fifth-highest scoring quarter by a player in the NBA’s play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.
That scorching start helped Adebayo end up in position to make history later in the night, as only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game on March 2, 1962, is ahead of Adebayo. The three highest-scoring individual performances in league history now belong to Chamberlain (100 points), Adebayo (83 points) and Kobe Bryant (81 points on Jan. 22, 2006).
“We have players that are sitting out and I spoke to Bam about I want, as our best player and team captain, for him to be locked in and ready,” Spoelstra recalled of a conversaton he had with Adebayo before Tuesday’s contest. “And he sure was because of everything that was at stake. The way he played in the first quarter had nothing to do with what happened afterwards. It was about our opportunity and as a leader of the team, he approached that game appropriately.
“And the fact that he was still in the game at the end, this is what our fans want to see and this is what you really want to see happen in this league is for there to be some competitive storylines. And then a brilliant, magical night just appeared out of nowhere and he seized that opportunity. Those are tricky games, when you’re facing teams like that that have nothing to lose and that aren’t planning to win. But the players on the court, you don’t know how they’re approaching that kind of game.”
Some of the outside criticism stems from the fact that Adebayo set NBA records for free throws made (36) and attempts in game (43) on Tuesday. The Heat also intentionally missed a free throw and committed at least one intentional foul in the final minutes to get Adebayo extra possessions down the stretch of the game.
But Spoelstra pointed out that Adebayo already had set records earlier in the night before that point, as he had 70 points with 9:05 to play.
“All this stuff happened under two minutes,” Spoelstra said. “He had already broken a bunch of records and we’re going to go for it. It was just an amazing moment to be a part of that. And I would do it ten times out of ten again for Bam. I’m apologizing to nobody about this. I feel just so awesome for Bam because he is about all the right things.
“I think most of the people that probably made comments, they didn’t watch the game. That’s irresponsible or unethical. You don’t even understand the context of the game.”
After dismissing the outside criticism, Spoelstra then turned his attention to praising Adebayo.
Adebayo, 28, has spent his entire NBA career with the Heat since he drafted with the 14th overall pick in 2017. His previous career-high for a game was 41 points in January 2021.
“He’s a winning player, and I just think sometimes people don’t respect that enough,” Spoelstra said. “Being just a tremendous two-way basketball player. He wins when it matters the most because he does all the things that lead to winning, and then because of his iron will and a relentless work ethic born out of how he grew up.
“His story is so inspirational, but he’s willed himself into becoming a premier offensive player in this league. And that’s been through a lot of sweat and hard work and a relentlessness to that work year in, year out. I love Bam. Everybody knows that. Everybody knows how I feel about him. I just respect everything that he’s about.”
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