Podcast Summary: Dan Bernstein Unfiltered (Ep. 135)

Episode Title: Will Bam Adebayo's 83-point performance be remembered?
Date: March 12, 2026
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Jason (with longtime exec producer Matt Abbatacola)
Theme: Honest, unfiltered analysis of the Chicago Bulls’ direction, player development, tanking strategy—and candid discussion of Bam Adebayo’s historic 83-point NBA game and its place in basketball history.

Episode Overview

This episode delivers a passionate, often exasperated conversation about the fortunes (or lack thereof) of the Chicago Bulls as the season winds down. Dan Bernstein and Jason dive deep into the Bulls’ approach to tanking, confusing rotation choices, and lack of organizational vision, before shifting the lens to the bigger sports world and the basketball event of the week: Bam Adebayo’s unprecedented 83-point performance. The hosts analyze the meaning of the record, its legitimacy, and the NBA’s cultural memory—while skewering the reaction from fans, the Lakers, and the media.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Bulls’ Confusing “Tanking” and Roster Moves

• The hosts are openly frustrated by the Bulls' inability to execute a clear tanking strategy.
  • "I don't know what the Bulls think they're accomplishing. ...[It] is more than pissing me off right now." (Jason, 00:02)
• Bulls continue to play key young players heavy minutes—even when losses would benefit their lottery odds.
  • “How is Modest Bouzales playing 45 minutes, Giddy’s playing 43 minutes? Get him out of there. Do something. You can’t win that game. Understand what the mission is here.” (Jason, 02:01)
  • Bulls moved down to 9th in the draft order: “They’ve gone down in the draft order since we’ve talked.” (Dan, 02:33)
• Frustration that the franchise lacks a “unifying vision”—credit to beat writer Julia Poe for persistently challenging the team’s leadership and direction. (Jason, 15:06)

Notable Quotes:

• “All we've been talking about is how we want them to be competitive and lose, and we want to see something from the young guys...and we haven't seen that much of that.” (Dan, 00:40)
• “Lose these games.” (Jason, 03:08)

Player Spotlights:

• Rob Dillingham: Debate about his limited minutes and injury excuses (“ganglion cysts” in his wrist). Is his poor shooting injury-related or just who he is?
  • “Everything he throws up there is bouncing off the ... It's like everything threatens to be a wedgie or it's going straight up in the air and hitting the shot clock.” (Jason, 08:12)
  • "Maybe he's just bad and he can't shoot." (Jason quoting a listener, 12:51)
• Leonard Miller: Cited as an upside surprise — “Is he not just a more physical version of Julian Phillips right now?” (Dan, 03:31)
• Collin Sexton: Praised for energy/hustle but seen as an odd roster fit. (Dan, 04:48)

2. The “Tanking Ethics” and Its Human Side

• Acknowledgement that tanking is rough for players forced into losing situations:
  • “Part of me feels bad...you throw out a team of players that aren't good enough to win but can look like they're trying hard enough. ...I just feel bad for those guys at a personal level.” (Dan, 15:58)
• Ultimately, the hosts conclude: for Bulls' success, only a top draft pick will truly move the needle—a sentiment of “it sucks, but it's necessary.”

3. Bam Adebayo’s 83-Point Game: Historic or Hollow?

Context & Critique:

• The record is described as “verifiable”—in contrast to Wilt Chamberlain’s famous 100-point game, which the hosts note is surrounded by “myth and apocrypha.” (Jason, 17:21)
• The game’s atmosphere: March NBA games are “weird” due to tanking and injuries.
• Wizards’ defensive effort is mercilessly mocked for failing to double-team Bam until he had 74 points.
  • "[The Wizards] didn't start putting an extra man on him until he had 74, I think it was.” (Dan, 19:39)
  • Even the players, not just coaches, should have intervened: “If the players should do it on their own at that point...” (Jason, 20:56)
• The hosts recount how the Wizards’ coach only belatedly recognized the disaster:
  • “He literally said, ‘we let a guy get hot tonight.’ Well, you didn’t even acknowledge the fact that he had 83 points on your team.” (Dan, 21:27)
• Comedic reenactments of bench conversations: “Hey, he’s got 74. Oh, does he? Let’s start doubling him...” (Jason, 22:22)

Statistical Highlights:

• “150-129. ...22 threes, only made 7...made 36 of 43 free throws and shot 20 of 43 from the field.” (Dan, 26:08)

Notable Quotes:

• “Congrats to Bam. That’s a hell of an individual performance.” (Dan, 22:17)
• “If only he had called it a night a little bit sooner. ...This should not have been published. And history will not be kind to this, this particular story.” (Jason, 36:51)

4. Kobe Bryant’s Legacy and the Reaction to Bam's Record

• Media and fan controversy: Lakers’ PA announcer labels it “a melancholy footnote” as Bam passes Kobe’s 81. (Jason, 27:35)
• The Athletic’s Sam Amick suggests Bam should have “stopped at 81” out of respect for Kobe’s memory, to the hosts’ disbelief.
  • “Go blow it out your ass out of. Courtesy to Kobe Bryant.” (Jason, 29:18)
• Kobe's “untouchable status” is discussed—rooted, the hosts argue, in his tragic death.
  • “You think it’s because he died young and tragically? ...That nobody would be doing this if he didn’t die young and tragically.” (Jason, 30:08)
• Hosts note a now-visible “undercurrent of very strong Kobe Bryant distaste,” especially around issues of his 2003 sexual assault case and the challenge of reconciling “believe survivors” with idolizing Kobe.
  • “I was surprised...to see it come out immediately...there was a lot of that distaste is certainly coming from a real place.” (Jason, 32:19)
• They refute the reverence many show, especially the notion that Bam should have “let Kobe keep the record.”

Notable Quotes:

• “Courtesy for my dick.” (Dan, 29:21 — mocking the idea of yielding the record for “courtesy”)
• “We both know the answer and we both don't want to say it.” (Dan, 30:05)
• "That's a hell of an individual performance." (Dan, 22:17)
• “When did Kobe Bryant become some unassailable God?” (Jason, 29:50)
• “I just have such an issue with people that are Kobe meat riders. ...I just don’t understand it. ...That someone said bam should have stopped.” (Dan, 33:11)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------------|------------| | Bulls’ “tanking” and player rotation frustrations | 00:02–06:45| | Debate over Rob Dillingham, injury excuses | 07:01–10:19| | Tanking ethics & lack of franchise vision | 15:06–17:21| | Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, Wizards’ apathy | 17:21–26:08| | Kobe’s 81, media/Lakers reaction, cultural memory | 27:12–37:03| | The “should Bam have stopped at 81” debate | 28:42–37:04| | Kobe’s legacy, #MeToo context, public perception | 29:50–33:39| | Ridicule of Sam Amick’s column (“call it a night”) | 36:51–37:03| | Trivia & banter (Who Am I, blocks/steals game etc.) | 37:04–45:48|

Memorable Moments & Tone

• Mocking the Wizards’ coaching and defense (“Hey, he’s got 74. Oh does he? Let’s start doubling him...”) for comedic effect.
• Raw, irreverent reaction to suggestions that Bam should have respected Kobe’s legacy by stopping at 81 points (“Go blow it out your ass out of courtesy to Kobe Bryant.”)
• Unfiltered dialogue on Kobe Bryant’s complex legacy, including respectful acknowledgment of why some people actively dislike the idolatry.
• Classic Bernstein banter and sarcasm throughout, e.g., “Courtesy for my dick” and storytelling about family trips morphing into trivia games.
• Reproach for sports columnists (esp. Sam Amick) who, in the hosts’ view, miss the bigger picture by clinging to sentimentality.

Concluding Notes

• The episode is a masterclass in Chicago sports frustration, mixed with biting humor and deep basketball insight. The hosts provide a cathartic release for fans feeling trapped by a team going nowhere, and aren’t afraid to challenge sports-media orthodoxy.
• The discussion of Bam Adebayo’s record wisely moves beyond stats to address how history is shaped, who gets to keep records, and why narrative matters.
• For listeners who missed the episode: expect a candid, irreverent take—not just on basketball results, but on the storytelling and myth-making that dominate sports culture.

Standout Quote
“Go blow it out your ass out of courtesy to Kobe Bryant.” — Jason (29:18)

Most On-Brand Moment
The hosts mocking the Wizards’ total lack of defensive adjustment while Bam Adebayo crossed into record-books—“You’re doubling him now? ...Like, that makes it look worse, almost...” (Jason, 24:08)