Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against the Wizards last night. Yes, in one game! It eclipsed Kobe Bryant for the second-most points ever scored in an NBA game, and it has drawn a clear line in the sand between the two types of NBA fans — the enjoyers and the haters.
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The enjoyers have reveled in the absurdity of Bam’s incredible feat. And make no mistake, it was absurd. This game was like watching the NBA through a funhouse mirror. The Wizards seemed to put their entire team against Bam at times, and they fouled other players just to keep him from getting another chance to score.
I have never laughed this hard watching a basketball game in my life. Bam is so tired he could barely jump over a credit card. Coulibaly guarding him like Game 7 of the Finals. Triple teams!!
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) March 11, 2026
The Heat countered by fouling the Wizards to get the ball back, and by missing free throws on purpose. Even the notoriously challenge-averse Erik Spoelstra took one for the team, all in the name of getting Bam another look. The final stat line looked like something out of a video game, as Bam shot an unbelievable 43 free throws to match his 43 field goal attempts.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon did not enjoy what he saw, and that’s putting it mildly. On an emergency episode of The Hoop Collective, he said, “I mean I get it, Bam’s your guy, he’s got a chance to chase some history, but you’re up 20-something, intentionally fouling to extend the game with minutes left? He’s jacking up 3s while being triple-teamed? I mean, it honestly was just awful, hideous, disgusting basketball down the stretch.”
MacMahon was self-deprecating about the get off my lawn-ness of his take, but he still couldn’t hide his disgust with what he saw. “I admit, I was cracking up laughing while watching,” he said, “but I never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever want to hear about ‘Heat culture’ and professionalism and all that cr*p again, because that was the most blatant stat-chasing I’ve ever seen.”
MacMahon hilariously compared it to the time Ricky Davis tried to secure a triple-double by intentionally shooting it at the wrong basket and grabbing his own rebound, but whereas that was one play that didn’t waste much time, this dragged out the fourth quarter and made the entire thing a farce, in his opinion.
“It was embarrassing for the Lizards (his well-earned nickname for the tanking Wizards), egregious for the Heat, but hey, you got your 83,” he said. “I enjoyed the ethical 39 by Wemby more than I enjoyed the egregious 83, but I’m old, I’m grumpy, I admit it.”
MacMahon’s take makes sense, and it would carry a lot of weight if this kind of stuff was happening all the time. But to have one random Tuesday night game turn into such a spectacle, ridiculous though it may have been? That can’t be a bad thing. For the fans in attendance and those watching at home, this is something they’ll never forget they saw.
Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points isn’t even on video, and accounts vary about how “ethical” it was anyway. Kobe’s 81 featured a lot of similar tactics. It’s pretty much impossible to get to a number like that by playing straight up. Sometimes we take sports way too seriously, so why not celebrate the ridiculous every once in a while?
Bam’s 83 was a historic and unforgettable moment. Was it “awful, hideous, and disgusting?” Yeah, probably, but that’s also what made it beautiful.
