{"id":536575,"date":"2026-03-14T20:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T20:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/536575\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T20:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T20:29:10","slug":"pat-riley-slams-unjustified-criticism-of-bam-adebayos-83-point-game-its-all-bulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/536575\/","title":{"rendered":"Pat Riley Slams \u2018Unjustified\u2019 Criticism of Bam Adebayo\u2019s 83-Point Game: \u2018It\u2019s All Bulls—\u2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bam Adebayo scored 83 points earlier this week<\/a> and stunned the sports world. The Heat center\u2019s unexpected, historic scoring explosion against the Wizards is one of the biggest sports stories of the year; he now ranks second on the NBA\u2019s all-time single-game scoring list behind only Wilt Chamberlain. <\/p>\n

However, his remarkable accomplishment has not been universally celebrated as such. Adebayo\u2019s performance has been criticized by fans and media alike. Those detractors believe his 83-point outing is worth less than, say, Kobe Bryant\u2019s 81 points<\/a> because Adebayo scored 36 points from the free throw line<\/a>. Furthermore his team went to great lengths late in the fourth quarter to help push him past Bryant, feeding him the ball at any cost and intentionally fouling Washington in order to prolong the game. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s made the \u201cethics\u201d of Adebayo\u2019s game quite the talking point throughout the week. The noise was loud enough that coach Erik Spoelstra and Adebayo himself issued direct responses<\/a> to the noise. Their stances were unsurprising: neither will apologize for how things unfolded, nor do they care about what the critics have to say. On Saturday, team president and NBA legend Pat Riley joined their chorus. <\/p>\n

In a story published by the Miami Herald<\/a>, Riley didn\u2019t hesitate to bash the criticism of Adebayo\u2019s 83-point performance. He called it \u201call bulls—\u201c and argued anybody who was cynical of the historic moment was just trying to draw attention to themselves. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bulls—. It\u2019s all bulls—,\u201d Riley said to Anthony Chiang. \u201cIt really is. Anybody who is negative on it, anybody who was cynical about it, anybody who talked about it the way they talked about it in a negative way, they\u2019re trying to either get views, hits, or they\u2019re podcasters and that\u2019s their job. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are critics today that are just so unjustified in what was going on with the tactics, and we were fouled, and they were fouled. The same thing happened with Wilt Chamberlain when he got 100 back in the day. But I don\u2019t buy any of that. They took an iconic, absolute incredible performance, and they tried to dismiss it. And that\u2019s not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

A very strong stance from the longtime NBA figurehead. As well as an expected one. Riley was as thrilled as anybody for Adebayo\u2019s achievement, greeting him after the game on Tuesday with a big hug and hearty message of congratulations. <\/p>\n

Instant pure, raw, historic emotions. Congrats @Bam1of1<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/16FsMuLNBh<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Riley has been around the block in the NBA, winning five championships as a coach and two more as a front office executive. He\u2019s helped oversee the careers of legends from Magic Johnson to LeBron James. He recently got a statue in front of the Lakers\u2019 arena. And as a famously blunt individual, if Riley had a problem with anything that happened on Tuesday, he surely would have shared it.<\/p>\n

Instead Riley pushed back strongly on the idea anyone can discredit Adebayo\u2019s \u201ciconic, absolute incredible\u201d performance. The star center surely appreciates it, and Riley\u2019s opinion should certainly carry some weight as one of the stewards of NBA history. He thinks very highly of Adebayo based on his other quotes from today\u2019s story too. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy for him, because I believe he deserves that,\u201d Riley said. \u201cHe has that kind of work ethic. He\u2019s a humble guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The noise surrounding Adebayo\u2019s performance has gotten quieter as the week has gone on. Perhaps Riley\u2019s fiery quote will put a rest to it all. <\/p>\n

More NBA on Sports Illustrated