Newark native and Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo scored a staggering 83 points against the Washington Wizards on March 10. With that performance, he passed the great Kobe Bryant and is second all-time in points scored in a single NBA game, behind Wilt Chamberlain. But everyone has heard about that as it’s been everywhere recently. There are many mixed opinions from the public spreading on social media and across the internet.
People are saying that the fact that he shot 43 free throws, and the Miami Heat’s intentional fouling to chase the record and get the ball back for Bam, makes it “unethical” or just “not right”. They are simply trying to downplay it altogether. But the fact that people are blaming Bam and trying to devalue it altogether is absolutely ridiculous.
Adebayo responded to the criticism after the Miami Heat’s Thursday night game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “First of all, y’all are blaming me; you should be blaming their head coach. Get that first. I was not the one letting me go one-on-one the whole game until I had 70. Then you started to send a double. At that point, I got 70 with, like, what, nine minutes left to go in the game. You think I’m not going for it?
“And that’s the thing that’s crazy,” Adebayo added, “when they talk about the unethical part of basketball. I’m like, I have 70 with nine minutes to go. Who would just be like, you know, coach, just take me out. Yeah, right! Anybody in my shoes with nine minutes left? A minute? All right. nine? Yeah, I’m going for it. You can’t be mad at that. If you are mad, I don’t care.”
If anyone were in his shoes, of course, you’re going for it. There’s no question. The last person to blame is Bam; blame anyone else. He just did his job: play basketball. The fact that he even had to defend himself and turn off comments on his social media is crazy to me. In my opinion, I think people are upset because it happened the same way when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won MVP. Everyone said he was a free-throw merchant and a “fake MVP,” but people seem to forget that free throws are part of basketball! Bam or Shai aren’t blowing the whistle, are they?
Don’t get me wrong here, Kobe’s 81 was a bit more impressive visually because there were fewer free throws, and the way the game was played back then, it was more gritty, and fewer foul calls were called. I understand that completely. I also think a huge factor in all the criticism is that he passed Kobe Bryant. Kobe inspired everyone who grew up watching and playing basketball. There’s no doubt about that. So I think people have resentment because Bam will forever be above Kobe when it comes to points in a single game.
NBA fans should reflect on officiating, foul calls, and overall league play instead of downplaying an achievement. This isn’t an everyday event—sure, 50 maybe, but 83? No way. If I’m Bam, I’m raising both middle fingers, because until someone scores 82, people will see him above Kobe in points for a game.
Good luck.
