Charles Barkley was not happy with the Washington Wizards for allowing Bam Adebayo to etch his name in NBA scoring history.
Adebayo broke the internet on Tuesday when he dropped 83 points on the Wizards in a 150-129 Miami Heat win. Some who witnessed the feat weren’t fans of how it played out. The game was lopsided enough for the Heat to have sat Adebayo under normal circumstances. But the team left the All-Star center in the game and continued to feed him despite the win already being in hand.
Barkley was upset for a different reason. The Hall of Fame power forward appeared on Saturday’s ESPN Tip-off show and lambasted the Wizards for showing “no pride whatsoever.”
“I’m disgusted by the Wizards,” Barkley said. “As a competitor, you’ve got to go dirty. … When you’re down 20, and the game is over, and now a team is like, ‘just go for the record,’ you’re disrespecting me. I thought the Wizards, who’ve got no pride whatsoever, obviously they’re tanking, but you’ve still got to have pride. If a guy’s doing that, you’ve got to knock him on his a–.”
Charles Barkley says the Wizards should’ve started playing dirty when Bam was going for 83 😭😭
— Hater Report (@HaterReport) March 15, 2026
"As a competitor you gotta go dirty. When you're down 20 and the game is over… you're disrespecting me… you gotta knock him on his ass"
h/t @ohnohedidnt24
pic.twitter.com/MsuKzJDHER
The Wizards did start triple-teaming Adebayo down the stretch, but he had already tallied around 70 points before Washington had the sense of urgency to get the ball out of his hands.
Adebayo’s 83-point game has become a polarizing topic, with many criticizing various aspects of the historic night. It’s gotten to the point that Heat team president Pat Riley has felt the need to send a profane message to those disparaging what Adebayo accomplished.
