Bam Adebayo Slams Critics Calling Him 'Unethical' for Passing Kobe Bryant's Scoring Record

Anna Lazarus CaplanFri, March 13, 2026 at 3:28 PM UTC

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Bam AdebayoCredit: Miami Heat/YouTube -

Bam Adebayo is clapping back at his critics

After the Miami Heat star scored 83 points in a game earlier this week, some pundits and fans took issue with the way he did it, and for passing the late Kobe Bryant

The Heat intentionally fouled their opponent, the Washington Wizards, to get Adebayo more scoring opportunities even though they were up by 27 points

Bam Adebayo is calling out the haters who say his record-setting 83-point game was “unethical.”

The Miami Heat star’s performance resulted in the second-most points ever scored in an NBA game — and he overtook Kobe Bryant’s spot at No. 2, which the late Lakers star notched when he scored 81 points in a game in 2006.

But many fans and pundits are seemingly riled by the way in which Adebayo and the Heat went about achieving the feat.

"You're blaming me. You should be blaming the head coach. I was not the one who let me go one on one the whole game until I had 70 then you sent the double,” Adebayo, 28, told reporters on Thursday, March 12. “At that point, I had 70 with 9 mins to go. You think I'm not going for it?"

He continued, "That's the thing that's crazy when they talk about the unethical part of basketball. If I have 70 with 9 mins to go, who would be like, ‘Coach just take me out?’ Yeah, right."

As Adebayo neared the record, the team — leading by 27 points — intentionally fouled the Wizards so that the three-time All-Star could get more touches.

Adebayo also took 43 free throws on his way to setting the mark, according to ESPN.

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Bam AdebayoCredit: Megan Briggs/Getty

"You can't be mad at that. If you are mad, I don't care,” Adebayo said. “A lot of people, they're upset. If they did play, they never got the chance to get that close to chasing greatness. If you get that close, that's the point of chasing it — so you can surpass it."

Among those who took issue with Adebayo’s play were ESPN’s Chris Russo, who called Miami’s pursuit of the record a “complete disgrace," to The Athletic’s Sam Amick who said Adebayo should have stopped at 81 to preserve Bryant’s spot on the list.

In the game against the depleted Wizards, the Heat opted to rest some of their players, which made Adebayo’s contributions all the more important, head coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“Everything was at stake,” Spoelstra said. “The way he played in the first quarter had nothing to do with what happened afterwards. It was about our opportunity. And as the leader of the team, he approached that opportunity appropriately."

“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: for there to be some competitive storylines. And a brilliant, magical night appeared out of nowhere.”

"I apologize to absolutely no one," Spoelstra said, per ESPN. "Period."

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Source: “AOL Sports”