The buzz around Bam Adebayo’s 83-point heroics has attracted more backlash than compliments. Looks like the Miami Heat big man’s big night now falls under the technicalities’ radar. However, boss Pat Riley doesn’t approve of all the hatred that his star and the franchise are currently facing. Therefore, the 80-year-old took his chance to shred the critics.

“It’s bullsh*t. It’s all bullsh*t. It 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’re trying to either get views, hits, or they’re podcasters, and that’s their job,” Riley told The Miami Herald.

He added, “There are critics today that are just so unjustified in what was going on with the tactics, and we were fouled, and they were fouled.”

Then, citing Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game from 1962, Riley added, “The same thing happened with Wilt Chamberlain when he got 100 back in the day. But I don’t buy any of that. They took an iconic, absolutely incredible performance, and they tried to dismiss it. And that’s not fair.”

Praise flooded in for Bam Adebayo after the explosive 83-point night on Tuesday. Yet criticism followed quickly. Some claimed the Miami Heat steered the game to boost Adebayo’s total, even missing a free throw on purpose and committing an intentional foul late for extra possessions. Chaos ruled the closing minutes. Miami held a 25-point lead in the fourth with Adebayo already at 77. Coach Erik Spoelstra even challenged an offensive foul to keep the run alive. However, the review failed as the bench still celebrated.

Then the stat sheet turned wild. Adebayo launched 43 shots, including 22 threes, and buried 36 of 43 free throws to set records. Defenses swarmed him with double, triple, even quadruple teams. Meanwhile, the Heat fouled Wizards players four times to stretch possessions. On the other side, the Washington Wizards tried their own tricks. They fouled Keshad Johnson to block Adebayo’s free throws, yet also hacked Adebayo 26 times, another NBA record.

Following the 150-129 loss, the Washington Wizards head coach, Brian Keefe, aimed at Miami and Bam. “They kept him in the game, and there were a lot of foul calls — 16 free throws in the fourth quarter,” Keefe said. “[We were] just trying to take the ball out of his hands.” He added, “The fourth quarter just turned into not a real basketball game.”

Now, after days of such remarks, Bam Adebayo finally clapped back. In his latest conversation on The Dan Patrick Show, the Heat star called out the Wizards head coach and addressed the elephant in the room.

Bam Adebayo rips the Wizards’ head coach

“Everyone wants to be mad at me, but be mad at their coach for not doubling me when I had 30 in a quarter,” Bam said without hesitation. The host pushed back on the criticism of Bam’s night. He reminded everyone that Bam already had 64 points through three quarters without any outrage. Then he questioned the narrative, asking why the spotlight stayed on the final minutes instead of judging the full performance.

“Their coach started fouling my teammates, so I couldn’t shoot free throws. So it wasn’t like it was just like all the Miami Heat are just in (expletive) the game away. That’s not what it was,” Adebayo slammed. “It was also them being like, in order for Bam not to get this record, we’re just gonna file his other teammates when they touch the ball. That’s unethical basketball to me is like whatever y’all want to call it.”

Basketball chaos often leaves behind one burning question. What truly counts as greatness? Bam Adebayo’s night now lives in that storm. Critics kept shouting while Pat Riley roared back. The Wizards complained, and Bam fired back. Meanwhile, the debate keeps spinning. Still, one thing feels clear. A performance this wild refuses to fade quietly.