Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green shrugged off the criticism surrounding Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo's historic 83-point performance, calling the reaction a "loser mentality" during the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show.
Adebayo had the second-highest scoring performance in NBA history during the Heat's 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. The 28-year-old center exploded for 83 points while adding nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 42 minutes, shooting 20-for-43 from the field, 7-for-22 from three-point range and 36-for-43 from the free-throw line.
The performance immediately sparked debate throughout the league, with some critics questioning whether Miami should have allowed Adebayo to continue the late scoring milestone in a game that was already decided.
Green rejected that criticism during his podcast.
"Bam goes for 83 points. Let's talk about it... 20 years from now, 30 years from now they'll be in the record books saying Wilt Chamberlain 100 points and until further notice, Bam Adebayo 83. Can't even say they were playing against the Washington Wizards and they were talking nonsense. So everybody out there is hating like, 'Hey man, Spo got like that. Shouldn't have done it. Oh, man Bam' He shouldn't have done that, he shouldn't have done that, he shouldn't have done that.
👀 🔥 "I don't care how you do it, scoring 83 in an NBA game is crazy!" Voices rise in support of Draymond Green #BamAdebayo Putting up 83 – a statistic for the history books! pic.twitter.com/8wTXFzosnu
- The Draymond Green Show (@DraymondShow) 13 March 2026
Draymond Green calls criticism of Bam Adebayo's scoring night 'loser mentality'
Green expressed much of his frustration toward what he described as unwritten rules that discourage teams from running score after the game's outcome is no longer in doubt.
"Y'all want Spo to feel bad for that organization and kick Bam out of the game and not let him go after the record? I hate these unwritten rules in basketball like don't score because y'all are ahead. Bullshit! This loser ass mentality people have in this world is really pathetic...' You should kick him out [of] Who says 'game because you're up too many points'? It's not their fault they stink!”
Adebayo's scoring surge started early in the game. He scored 31 points in the first quarter and finished the first half with 43, already putting himself in range of one of the league's most elite scoring marks.
Green argued that the initial outburst made criticism of the performance even more unfair.
"Bam had 43 at halftime, which means for all the haters out there, like, 'Oh, he should have come out of the game,' he was on his way to 86... I really think that's crazy. [that] People are really hating. We've seen a lot of guys stat chase and stat pad in the NBA, but no one has made their way and stat chased up to 83. I don't care how you do it, scoring 83 in an NBA game is crazy. And we'll act like this guy was just chasing stats to get 83 points, no. He had 30 points in the first quarter. Let's stop acting like some crazy person gone crazy, like it's Bam Adebayo, are you all kidding me?
Green backs Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after Adebayo's 83-point night
Green also voiced support for Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra, who allowed Adebayo to remain in the game as the milestone approached.
"Man, I got love from Coach Spo for that. A lot of times you see coaches take people out like, 'Oh, we got a lead, sportsmanship bullshit'. Bullshit. I can't believe there was so much fuss about Bam scoring 83 like he cheated or something? The bullshit went out of here."
Adebayo's historic outing added to an already productive season for the Heat star. In 59 games, he has averaged 20 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 44.4% from the field and 32.4% from three-point range.
Miami improved to 38-29 after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, extending its winning streak to seven games while taking over the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
