When does criticism from a former NBA great spark a bigger controversy than the performance itself? Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point explosion should have been the only storyline, but it quickly became something else entirely. As Tracy McGrady weighed in with a take that tied the performance to the league’s expansion and talent pool, not everyone was on board.

In the recent episode of the Dan Patrick Show, Tracy McGrady shared his thoughts on the 83-point performance. He shared that, given the Washington Wizards’ condition, the NBA should stop any consideration of expansion. This comes after ESPN’s Shams Charania revealed that the NBA will hold meetings to discuss the expansion plans. Following his statement, former Miami Heat star Solomon Hill came up with a sly dig at T-Mac. “He could have a point, back when Tracy played, there was so much talent, that he couldn’t get out the first round,” Hill wrote on X in reply to T-Mac’s video.

While this is banter between Hill and T-Mac, it is actually true that during the NBA’s seven-time All-Star’s era, even the teams that struggled to reach the playoffs consistently had Hall of Famers in their ranks. So the competitiveness and star power of that era remain unmatched. However, that is also a reason why T-Mac has an underwhelming playoff record.

The Hall of Famer has a 19-31 playoff record. He played 50 playoff games with his team reaching the playoffs 9 times, but he never advanced past the second round. Despite that, he is still considered one of the best scorers of all time, as he was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame.

His statement about Bam Adebayo’s 83-point eruption is more about the competitiveness of the league right now, amid expansion talks, than about discrediting the Heat center’s heroics from a week ago.

McGrady Uses Bam Adebayo’s 83-Point Night to Question NBA Expansion Push

In all certainty, the NBA has decided to take the expansion rumors seriously after teasing the same topic for decades. This time, the air around expansion feels different, as ESPN has already confirmed that the NBA will hold a couple of meetings with all its stakeholders to discuss the proposition. They are reportedly looking at teams from Seattle and Las Vegas to be introduced from the 2028-29 season if the process gets approval.

While many other analysts, like Stephen A. Smith and Hall of Famer and former NBA star Tracy McGrady, feel there’s not enough talent in the NBA right now, the league is looking to add two more teams.

He highlights that there are already teams suffering from a lack of star power, with some sidelined by season-long injuries. He also contextualizes Bam Adebayo’s 83-point heroics as a reflection of the league’s lack of competitiveness right now.

“You seen the Washington Wizards play?” McGrady asked during the podcast. “See what Bam did to them that night? Like, do we need more of that? I’m just saying. I see bad basketball around the NBA. I know some players are hurt, like Tyrese Haliburton is hurt in Indiana. But that product that we’re seeing is bad. Steph Curry and those guys in Golden State are hurt. We just had a Golden State – New York Knicks game at the Garden. No, man,” he added.

McGrady’s critique centers on a core concern: the NBA’s current talent pool already strains to deliver consistent, high-level competition across 30 teams—let alone 32.

He uses Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point eruption against the Washington Wizards on March 10, 2026, not to diminish Adebayo’s achievement, but to illustrate the symptom of that strain.

In a lopsided 150-129 Heat victory, Adebayo torched a depleted, struggling Wizards roster, dropping the second-highest single-game scoring total in league history.

McGrady’s point is that, with stars like Stephen Curry and Tyrese Haliburton sidelined by injury, even established franchises can become vulnerable and non-competitive overnight.

When elite difference-makers are absent, the drop-off in quality is stark – teams lack the depth or secondary creators to stay afloat. He argues this exposes a broader scarcity of true franchise-caliber talent capable of carrying new squads.

Adding two more teams would create roughly 30 additional roster spots, further diluting the pool and likely leading to more blowouts like Adebayo’s dominant night against a tanking Wizards team.

By connecting these dots, injuries revealing thin benches, weak teams getting obliterated, and a lack of reliable stars to anchor expansion franchises, McGrady contends that expansion risks eroding the league’s competitive edge, even as it promises revenue growth and more opportunities for emerging players.