Stop Disrespecting Bam, Beloved
Greatness doesn’t need permission. Sometimes it just needs the ball.
March 12, 2026
I really don’t understand the energy around Bam’s 83-point game.
People online saying weird stuff like the performance was “unethical.” That term doesn’t even make sense. What is ethical hoops? Since when did scoring too much become a crime in basketball? If somebody can stop you, they will. If they can’t, the scoreboard tells the truth.
And let’s start with the obvious point people keep ignoring.
He was playing the Washington Wizards.
No disrespect to that organization, but everybody knows they’re not exactly the ’04 Pistons defensively. When a star player smells blood in the water, that’s what happens. Stars attack weaknesses. That’s basketball.
Second thing people seem to have forgotten is Bam was just in the NBA Finals six years ago. That’s not ancient history. So what exactly are people acting surprised about? Like he suddenly forgot how to hoop? Elite players don’t just wake up one morning and lose the ability to dominate a game.
Greatness doesn’t disappear that fast.
Then there’s another layer people aren’t really talking about. Bam’s sparring partner right now is one of the greatest hoopers in women’s sports history, A’ja Wilson. Yes, she’s a woman, and obviously the physical differences exist, but that doesn’t mean the competition and inspiration aren’t real. Anybody who has ever been around high-level athletes knows that iron sharpens iron.
If your partner is dominating their league, winning MVPs, collecting championships, and walking around with that type of energy, you’re naturally going to feel that motivation too. Competitive people feed off that kind of environment.
So the idea that Bam couldn’t tap into another level of inspiration right now doesn’t make sense to me.
And here’s the biggest thing people are missing.
Who exactly was the other scoring option for Miami in that game?
Like seriously.
Who were they supposed to rely on? Jaime Jaquez Jr.?
No disrespect to him, he’s a solid player and a young talent. But let’s be real about the moment. Bam was clearly the main offensive option that night. When the situation calls for it, the best player on the floor is supposed to take over.
That’s what stars do.
Basketball history is full of games where one guy had to carry the scoring load because nobody else could create offense at the same level. That’s not unethical. That’s responsibility.
Another thing I keep seeing is people bringing Kobe into it, saying Kobe would somehow be disappointed in the performance.
That’s nonsense.
Go look at Kobe’s last tweets on Earth. The man was literally giving younger players flowers and celebrating the next generation of greatness. Kobe understood the beauty of someone going crazy on the court. If anything, he respected the audacity of it.
Great competitors respect great performances.
So all this weird hate around Bam dropping 83 just feels misplaced.
Sometimes somebody just has a legendary night.
No scandal.
No controversy.
Just buckets.
And when that happens, the proper response isn’t to dissect it to death or invent new rules about “ethical scoring.”
The proper response is simple.
Respect the game.
Respect the performance.
And stop disrespecting Bam, beloved.
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