Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game against the Washington Wizards has been one of the most talked-about performances of the NBA season. But not everyone thinks Adebayo should keep the conversation going, including former NBA champion Iman Shumpert, who had a pointed message for the Miami Heat star on his podcast.
Iman Shumpert Tells Bam Adebayo to ‘Move On’ From Historic Night
The trigger for Shumpert’s comments was a joke Adebayo made after Luka Doncic dropped 60 points on the Heat. Reflecting on the performance, Adebayo said, “He hit some tough shots out there. I know what it’s like to be in that mode. As people can see, it’s not easy to get 80.”
Shumpert did not find it amusing. The former NBA player used his podcast to deliver a direct warning to Adebayo about continuing to reference the milestone. “Don’t bring up the 80 no more… You don’t bring that up,” Shumpert said.
“That was a regular-season game against a tanking team. You murder them, and then you walk off. You don’t talk about it… We all saw… Now it look weird. Now you’re about to make it to where I don’t like the 83 anymore.”
Iman Shumpert calls out Bam for always bringing up his 83-point game
“Don’t bring up the 80 no more. You don’t bring that up. That was a regular season game vs a tanking team.”
(h/t @HeatCulture13 )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 25, 2026
He went further, arguing that Adebayo was actually diminishing his own achievement by revisiting it. “You’re taking away from your own 83; that was a bad joke. I didn’t like that. Please don’t hold on to this, Bam. I need you to add to your resume,” Shumpert added.
Shumpert’s criticism centers on a distinction that has followed Adebayo’s record-setting night since then. The fact that it came against the Washington Wizards, one of the worst teams in the league, and a franchise widely viewed as prioritizing draft positioning over results this season. For Shumpert, the opponent’s context matters too. So, repeatedly bringing it up only invites more scrutiny.
In fairness to Adebayo, the joke after the Doncic game appears to be one of the few times he has publicly referenced the 83-point performance since it happened. He has not made a habit of bringing it up. Given the situation the Heat currently find themselves in, there is little time for celebration anyway.
Miami is in the middle of a five-game losing streak and has slipped to the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, putting its playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. For a team with aspirations of making a deep postseason run, the recent skid has shifted attention toward survival in the standings rather than historical milestones. Adebayo, as the team’s anchor, will need to be at the center of any turnaround they hope to engineer down the stretch.
