In the wake of his historic 83-point performance against the Washington Wizards, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo dismissed criticism labeling it as stat-chasing. He urged detractors to blame Wizards coach Brian Keefe instead and highlighted the team's fouling tactics to stop him.
Adebayo addressed the backlash after the Heat's 150-129 win over the Wizards, rejecting concerns about the legitimacy of his achievement, especially his 36-for-43 free-throw shooting. "They're going to talk about the free throws," he said. "It's not like I shoot 15 free throws a game. You can watch the film. I was legitimately getting fouled every time."
He pointed fingers at Wizards coach Brian Keefe for permitting one-on-one matchups most of the game. Speaking to reporters after the Heat's follow-up 112-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, Adebayo said, "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 and then you started to send a double."
On the Dan Patrick Show, he criticized the Wizards' late-game strategy of fouling his teammates to prevent him from breaking records. "It was also them being like, in order for Bam not to get this record, we're just going to foul his other teammates when they touch the ball," Adebayo noted. "That's unethical basketball to me."
A fan of Kobe Bryant, whose 81-point game he surpassed, Adebayo called the experience an emotional rollercoaster. "I'm kind of in awe of myself," he reflected, having his name etched between Wilt Chamberlain and Bryant on the scoring list. Against the Bucks, he managed 21 points on 6-for-20 shooting but focused on the team win. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra defended the outing, stating, "I apologize to no one."
Adebayo expects stronger defense from the Wizards in their April 4 rematch in Miami.
