Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo unexpectedly made history on Tuesday night when he became the third player in the league’s existence to surpass the 80-point mark. Despite the monumental feat, Adebayo received quite a large amount of criticism for the fashion in which he scored these points. Thankfully Adebayo has some heavyweights batting for him, like four-time NBA champion Draymond Green.
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Most of the criticism that Adebayo has received have been about the number of free throws he attempted. Bam went to the foul line a whopping 43 times. However, the Wizards were genuinely fouling him. The real controversial aspect of the game comes from the way the Heat hunted for the record in the final minutes.
It was a bit on the nose when the Heat intentionally got fouled to get more possessions for Adebayo. Surprisingly, Draymond Green has acted as the voice of reason throughout this entire situation.
“Y’all want [Erik Spoelstra] to feel bad for that organization and take Bam out of the game and not let him go after records?” he proclaimed on The Draymond Green Show. “I hate these unwritten a** rules in basketball about, ‘don’t score because y’all are ahead.’ F*** that!”
Draymond Green GOES OFF on people saying Bam should’ve been subbed out vs Wizards:
“Yall want Spo to feel bad for that organization and take Bam out the game and not let him go after records? I hate these un written ass rules in basketball about don’t score because yall are… pic.twitter.com/w5ZzWG59Va
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) March 13, 2026
Traditionally, when a team is up by close to 30 points entering the fourth quarter, the head coach will take out the starters and put in the bench. At that point, the game is practically decided, but it’s also a form of good sportsmanship. We have seen coaches take this approach even with a player on the precipice of having a historic performance.
Notoriously, Joel Embiid had 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs in 2024. He only played five minutes in the fourth quarter before Nick Nurse subbed him out of the game. He easily could have scored a few more points if the team had kept him in the game. Although that has been the standard, the Heat decided to flip the script, and Green is glad they did.
“This loser a** mentality that people have in this world is actually pathetic. ‘You’re supposed to take him out of the game because you’re up so many points,’ Says who? It’s not his fault they stink! Bam goes for 83. Shout out to Edrice. My dawg. Fire bro!” Green stated.
At the end of the day, no matter whichever way you put it, 83 points is 83 points. If it were an easy threshold to reach, someone would’ve done it before Adebayo. So, instead of complaining about the performance, it’s best to accept it for what it is, and celebrate.
