Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra heard the criticism about how his team handled the end of Bam Adebayo’s 83-point performance Tuesday night.
As a result, Spoelstra let everyone know he doesn’t care.
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“I apologize to absolutely no one,” Spoelstra said Thursday, per ESPN. “Period.”
Adebayo took 43 field-goal attempts, including 22 3-point tries, and 43 free throws in the Heat’s 150-129 victory over the Washington Wizards. Even though the game was well in hand, the Heat fouled the Wizards to extend the game and repeatedly fed Adebayo the ball.
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) reacts after becoming the NBA’s second-highest scorer in a game against the Washington Wizards. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
Spoelstra defended his team’s actions by pointing out that he believes the Wizards are losing games on purpose to improve their draft position. And, he said, Heat fans deserve memorable moments like the one they experienced Tuesday.
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Consequently, longtime NBA analyst Brian Windhorst reacted to Spoelstra’s comments early Friday on ESPN’s “First Take.”
“I absolutely love it,” Windhorst said, per the show’s X account. “I love that he defended it. I love that he didn’t apologize. And if you don’t like it, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to be talked into it. So just take it as you will.”
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Adebayo’s 83-point performance was the second-highest output in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point night in 1962. In addition, it eclipsed Kobe Bryant’s 81-point performance in 2006.
As a result, NBA purists and fans of Kobe Bryant called the Heat unethical for pumping up Adebayo’s stat line. To illustrate that sentiment, a Los Angeles Times columnist, Mirjam Swanson, wrote a column titled “Booooo! Bam Adebayo was ‘cheating the game’ in surpassing Kobe Bryant’s 81-point effort.”
Windhorst responded, “If you are a Kobe fan — and the Kobe fans protect his legacy, rightfully so — you are going to feel a certain way about this. I would posit that I don’t know if there is any circumstance in which a Kobe/Laker fan would have liked to have seen this record broken.”
Meanwhile, Adebayo had a relatively uneventful game Thursday. He scored 21 points on 6-of-20 shooting and had eight rebounds. Miami earned its seventh consecutive victory, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 112-105.
At 38-29, the Heat stand sixth in the Eastern Conference, just percentage points behind the No. 5 Orlando Magic. Miami host Orlando at 8 p.m. ET Saturday.
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