Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo delivered one of the most historic scoring performances in NBA history Monday night, but ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith directed much of the postgame discussion toward the Washington Wizards’ defense following Miami’s 150–129 victory.
Adebayo erupted for 83 points — the second-highest scoring total in NBA history — leading the Heat to their sixth consecutive win while sparking widespread reaction across the league. During Tuesday’s broadcast of ESPN’s First Take, Smith criticized the Wizards’ defensive effort, arguing that Washington offered little resistance as Adebayo piled up points throughout the night.
Smith made his remarks while discussing the game with co-host Chris Russo.
“It’s not Bam Adebayo’s fault. The brother had 31 points in the first quarter, he had 43 at halftime, he had 62 through three quarters, he had 70 points with nine minutes left. It ain’t his fault that the Washington Wizards are trash. It’s not his fault that you had them literally be participants in this career night because at some point in time they posed pretty much no resistance.”
Adebayo’s scoring progression reflected the dominance Smith referenced. The 28-year-old opened the game with 31 points in the first quarter and reached 43 by halftime. He had 62 points entering the fourth quarter before crossing the 70-point mark with nine minutes remaining.
“It ain’t [Bam’s] fault that the Washington Wizards are trash. … I'm not blaming Bam Adebayo for that. Congrats to him. It's his moment.”
—@stephenasmith on Bam Adebayo's 43 free throw attempts in his 83-point performance 🏀 pic.twitter.com/vEEFAxwHKh
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 11, 2026
Stephen A. Smith says Wizards’ defense ‘tainted’ Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point game
Smith also suggested the circumstances surrounding the closing stretch of the game contributed to the historic total.
“Then you’re talking about cats fouling folks on purpose just to get more possessions to give Bam Adebayo an opportunity at the record and stuff like that. Certainly they tainted it, it’s not his fault. He went out there and did what he was supposed to do. And even though he didn’t shoot 50% from the field – last time I checked, shooting 48%, 47% from the field is not bad either. He hit 20 of 43 shots , okay? It wasn’t like it was 13 for 43, he hit 20 for 43 shots.”
Adebayo finished the night with 83 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks across 42 minutes. He shot 20-for-43 from the field, 7-for-22 from three-point range and 36-for-43 from the free-throw line while posting a team-best plus-20 rating.
Smith compared the performance to Kobe Bryant’s famous 81-point game in 2006, noting differences in how opposing defenses responded.
“When Kobe did it, he did it in the flow of his game and the game itself. It got to the point where they were giving him the rock because they knew Kobe was going for it. He hit 28 of 46 shots, 7 of 13 threes, he was in attack mode. I know Sam Mitchell, the coach of the Toronto Raptors… What did he say? We did everything, we doubled him. We did everything we could, changed defenders on him. Kobe just gave it to us.”
Smith says Heat star should be celebrated
Smith furthered his criticism of the Wizards while defending Adebayo’s performance.
“That clearly was not the case for Bam Adebayo last night. But you could point the finger at [Erik] Spolestra, you could point the fingers at his teammates, you could point the finger at how atrocious the Washington Wizards were last night and how this will be a blemish on their franchise for years and years to come. But you can’t blame Bam Adebayo because obviously he had it going and knew it from the first quarter on because he never had a game like that in his life.”
Despite Smith’s criticism of Washington, he emphasized that Adebayo’s achievement deserved recognition.
“But this is a day where he deserves to be celebrated because he’s one of the good guys that goes about the business of grabbing his lunch bill and showing up to work every day to be the best that he can be… Congrats to him. It’s his moment.”
The performance added another milestone to Adebayo’s season. Through 58 games, the Heat center is averaging 20 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 44.8% from the field and 32.9% from three-point range.
Miami improved to 37–29 with Monday’s win, extending its winning streak to six games and climbing to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
