Shaquille O’Neal was in Canada and couldn’t catch the moment live when Bam Adebayo set the second-highest single-game scoring record with 83 points. Since then, though, the four-time NBA champion has shown support for the Heat star through social media and interviews. O’Neal’s stance did not change even on Inside the NBA, despite his co-host Charles Barkley’s disagreement over the record’s legitimacy.

“I’m happy for Bam,” O’Neal said. “31 in the first quarter. Hear all the people complaining, ‘Well, he shot 40 free throws.’ Stop fouling, Washington Wizards! Alex Sarr should be ashamed of himself. My favorite moment of the night was – he’s playing great, his mom’s there having a good time, he’s crying. A lot of people saying, ‘Well, yeah, he chased the record,’ and you should. To all the little kids out there, if you got a chance to break a record, your high school record, if you got a chance to make history, go for it. I’m glad he went for it. I’m glad he got the 83. I’m happy for Bam.”

The 83-point game has divided fans (especially diehard Black Mamba fans) and NBA legends. The reason critics are against Adebayo’s achievement is his 36 of 43 shooting from the charity stripe, setting new records for free-throw attempts and makes in a game. In fact, he had 14-16 from the line in the fourth quarter itself. But what people forget is his performance before the final frame.

Adebayo had gotten to 70 with 9:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. By the time he reached 70 points, the Heat star was shooting over 50% from the field with 25 free throws. So, with the record in sight, O’Neal endorsed that the 28-year-old should have broken Bryant’s 81-point record, which Adebayo eventually did.

The Heat were up 127-105, but the 28-year-old stayed in and only left with the clock down to 1:08. Head coach Spoelstra even said that he couldn’t “dare think about taking him out.”

The Heat would then foul to stop the clock down the stretch, and Keshad Johnson even intentionally missed a free throw with the hope that his teammate would get the ball.

O’Neal had a problem with how the Wizards defended Adebayo with heavy physicality as they struggled to contain him. On the other hand, the Heat only played the foul game once the record came into sight.

Despite not watching the game live, O’Neal even admitted on Tuesday, “I’m actually jealous and happy for him. Wish it was me.”

Adebayo was unapologetically himself after the game, calmly shrugging off all the accusations. He didn’t hesitate to tell the fanbase that they “should be blaming the head coach” for letting him stay on the court in the fourth quarter. He made it clear that with the record in sight, there was no way he would avoid chasing it. As the icing on the cake, the Heat star said that Bryant “would tell me to do it again,” instead of getting offended that his record was broken.

While the Lakers legend was on board, his co-host had a different perspective.

Charles Barkley does not share the same opinion as Shaquille O’Neal

Even former players like Robert Horry and Jason Williams had previously argued the Heat star chased the record with ‘unethical’ means. Even Charles Barkley stated the same on Inside the NBA.

“When I first saw it, I said, ‘Man, that’s incredible, 83 points, that’s flat-out incredible,” Barkley said. “I said, I got nothing but love. Bam does everything right. But then they have to show the highlights. I had some problems with [it]. Like I say, I’m gonna give him a pass because I love Bam. Congratulations to him. But some of that stuff was going on in the fourth quarter.”

By stuff, Barkley means the excessive fouling that the Heat did to get possession of the ball again to help Adebayo. While Shaquille O’Neal was loud with his opinion, Chuck had a backhanded compliment. This again showed their diverse personalities on the show that fans have fallen in love with.