Heat star Bam Adebayo explains the ‘big-brother’ relationship Dwyane Wade has with him
Bam Adebayo a little upset when he heard what Dwyane Wade said about him in the first round of the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge on Saturday. Wade was providing commentary of the event for TNT and told the viewing audience his former Miami Heat teammate is “not a shooter.”
Adebayo, of course, knocked down his first three-point attempt and proceeded to win the event in his first trip to All-Star Weekend. It earned him another bit of praise from the former superstar he considers to be a “big brother” in the NBA.
“I’m still kind of heartbroken that he said I wasn’t a shooter,” Adebayo said Thursday in Cleveland, “and then after I win he’s going to say he was proud of me. You see: That’s the type of big-brother stuff happening. It’s very contradictory.”
Adebayo only spent one full season playing with Wade, but the two are already inextricably linked. Until Sunday, Wade was the only player drafted by the Heat to play in an NBA All-Star Game while representing Miami. Adebayo became the second, suiting up in Chicago a year after Wade played in his 13th and final All-Star Game.
After Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in January, Adebayo reached out to Wade.
“I texted him to tell him I appreciate him, just because life is short,” Adebayo said. “You just never know. The last thing I want to leave on somebody’s mind is to tell them that I love them or I appreciate them.”
Adebayo was one of about a dozen current Miami players to head out to AmericanAirlines Arena on Friday for a ceremony honoring Wade, who will formally have his jersey retired at halftime of the Heat’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. in Miami.
Adebayo joked he’s “tired of seeing that man” because of how omnipresent he — and the end of his career — has been for the Heat (35-20) in the last year. It’s just part of their big brother-little brother relationship.
“He deserves it and he’s greatly appreciated in the 305, and we all know that,” Adebayo said, “so it’s going to be a great weekend for him, a great weekend for the organization.”
Butler’s status unknown
Jimmy Butler was one of the only Miami players not at the arena Friday, missing “The Flashback” for personal reasons. The All-Star wing, however, is not listed on the Heat’s injury report Saturday and his status for the game against the Cavaliers (15-40) is unknown. Forwards Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard both remain out because of their ankle injuries. Point guard Gabe Vincent and small forward KZ Okpala remain on assignment with G League Sioux Falls, and Kyle Alexander, also on a two-way contract, is still out with a strained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Cleveland will also be a bit shorthanded. Post player Kevin Love is out with soreness in his right Achilles tendon.
This story was originally published February 22, 2020 at 2:26 PM.
