Rhona Wise-Imagn Images
Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo isn’t backing down from the criticism of his historic 83-point performance earlier this week. Neither is his head coach Erik Spoelstra.
While speaking to the media in the aftermath of Bam Adebayo’s 83 point outing against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night — marking the second-highest single-game point total in NBA history — Erik Spoelstra made his feelings clear on how he and his team helped Bam accomplish his historic night, an that he’s “apologizing to no one.”
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra defended Bam Adebayo’s 83-point performance: ‘I apologize to no one’
“It’s a Tuesday night game against a team where they’re not playing for anything, the organization is trying to lose. We’ve already lost a game in that kind of situation. We have players that are sitting out,” Coach Spo said.
“And I spoke to Bam … I want, as our best player and team captain, for him to be locked in. And he sure was. He approached that game appropriately.”
Spo on Tuesday night: “I apologize to absolutely no one. Period.”
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) March 12, 2026
Spoelstra’s comments are reminiscent of one of Connor McGregor’s most famous moments in which he declared at UFC 205 that he “apologizes to absolutely nobody.”
“For the couch coaches, if you’re in my shoes … I was not the one who let me go 1-on-1 the whole game without letting me see a double,” Bam said on Thursday. “I’m going for it. You can’t be mad at that. If you are mad, I don’t care.”
In his historic 83 point performance, Adebayo shot 20-of-43 from the field (46%), 7-of-22 from three (31%), and put up 43 free throw attempts. Furthermore, in the closing moments of the game, with the win already sealed for the Miami, Heat players were fouling the Wizards in order to get the ball back to Bam to put up more shots.