Bam Adebayo’s sensational 83-point performance on Tuesday has, for many reasons, sparked controversy throughout the NBA.
Nothing is controversial to Draymond Green, though; in the eyes of the Warriors great, Adebayo balled out, and that’s all there is to it.
Green discussed the 28-year-old Heat forward’s legendary outing in Miami’s 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards in Friday’s edition of the “Draymond Green Show.”
“There has been a lot of talk around Bam Adebayo having 83 points,” Green prefaced before going on a nine-minute rant. “I hate these unwritten ass rules in basketball. I always talk about these. ‘Don’t shoot the ball, don’t score the ball, because you’re all ahead and the clock’s running down.’ F–k that. This is a basketball game. There’s time on the clock for a reason. … See, that’s why all y’all hate me, and I really don’t give a damn.
“Because this loser-ass mentality that people have in this world, it’s actually pathetic. If you’re losing, it’s OK to shoot the ball because you’re losing. But if you’re winning, it’s not OK because you’re winning? What the hell is that? Feel bad for winning? No, I work hard to win. I’m not going to feel bad. I’m also not going to stop playing. How about that? I’m going to shoot because there’s time left on the clock. How about that?”
Many basketball “fans” are upset that Adebayo played 42 minutes and took 43 free throws, and that longtime Heat coach Erik Spoelstra helped, or let, his franchise player achieve the second-highest single-game scoring performance in NBA history.
Adebayo’s outing has also been discounted by many because it came against the lowly Wizards.
But Green couldn’t be prouder of Adebayo and Spoelstra. He admires how the pair took advantage of a phenomenal opportunity, and believes that cries over sportsmanship are unserious.
“The record is going to say, ‘Wilt Chamberlain, 100 points. and until further notice, Bam Adebayo, 83.’ It ain’t going to say [Miami] was playing against the Washington Wizards and they f—–g sucked; It ain’t going to say any of that. It’s going to simply say, ‘Bam Adebayo, on March 10th, 2026, scored 83 points.’ That’s all it is going to say. So for everybody out there hating like, ‘Oh, man, Spo shouldn’t have done that. Oh, man, Bam shouldn’t have kept doing. … They shouldn’t have done this.’ Miss me with that.
“Shout out to Coach Spo, Man. I got love for Coach Spo for that. So many times you see coaches take guys out like, ‘Oh, we got to lead this sportsmanship s–t.’ F–k that. Shout out to Coach Spo. He called timeouts. He ran intentional fouls. ‘We’re getting this record for our guy.’ I respect that.”
No matter what people say, Adebayo scored 83 points in an NBA game.
And Green is adamant that people are overthinking the entire situation, praising just how impressive Adebayo’s performance truly was.
“I hate how everybody’s trying to act like Bam had this random performance for, like, some bum,” Green said. “It might also remind you that Bam’s averaging 20 this year. But it also reminds you that Bam’s a three-time All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, First-Team All-Defensive defender that’s been on multiple All-Defensive teams.
“I can’t believe it’s been this much fuss made about Bam getting 83, like he cheated us — the f–k out of here. Shout out to my dog. Congratulations, man. That was fire. Shout out to Coach Spo. That was fire.”
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