Heat’s Bam Adebayo insists ‘Joy Dealer’ hat was just a funny coincidence: ‘I’m not that petty’
Miami Heat three-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo is pleading innocence.
Adebayo’s decision to wear a hat with “Joy Dealer” sewed onto it for Wednesday’s matchup against Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors was taken by some as a shot at Butler. But Adebayo insists his hat choice was simply a funny coincidence.
“My stylist, when I put the outfit on, I called my staff, I said: ‘Bro, I feel like I’m missing something.’ And he’s like, ‘Let me see your hats,’” Adebayo said ahead of Friday night’s NBA Cup matchup against the Chicago Bulls at United Center. “And it was just the fact that it went with my outfit. It just so happened that we were playing the Warriors. But nothing more than that. I’m not that petty. I’m not like my significant other [WNBA star A’ja Wilson]. She’s more petty than I am. I’m not that petty.”
The “Joy Dealer” on Adebayo’s hat could have been connected to one of the defining moments of Butler’s ugly breakup with the Heat when he said he lost his “joy” on the court in early January. The Heat issued its first of three suspensions for Butler soon after that comment before trading him to the Warriors in February.
But the hat is actually promoting a brand that Adebayo is a big part of.
On the “Joy Dealer” Instagram page, it describes itself as “a group dedicated to community empowerment through shared meals, uplifting conversations, and acts of service.”
“Joy Dealer” founder Victoria Shahbaz said she started the brand in June 2023 and the brand’s activations began in March 2024, which is months before Butler made his “joy” comment on Jan. 2, 2025.
According to Shahbaz, “the brand are the volunteers that attend these community givebacks and spread joy. It’s a movement to inspire everyone to give back and deal joy.” All proceeds go to local organizations and givebacks.
“The biggest thing we try to do, the hat says it all. We’re joy dealers,” Adebayo said. “We’re trying to spread joy, trying to inspire the younger generation and impact the community. So that’s what we do. You do that by putting a smile on people’s faces.”
So, Wednesday’s hat choice was just an innocent coincidence?
“Yeah, a hundred percent,” Adebayo said with a smile.
ROZIER UNCERTAINTY
An NBA source confirmed Friday that the Heat has yet to receive clarity from the league about whether guard Terry Rozier’s salary can be used as part of a trade in the wake of his arrest last month as part of a federal gambling investigation. That NBA source also indicated the Heat has not yet received clarity from the league about whether it could even waive Rozier.
Waiving Rozier would create an additional $1.7 million of room below the luxury tax threshold since only $24.9 million of his $26.6 million salary for this season is currently guaranteed. The Heat is currently operating just $1.6 million below the NBA’s punitive luxury tax line.
As of now, the Heat has to wait until mid-December to use its 15th and final roster spot to sign a player for the rest of the season while still staying out of the luxury tax. But waiving Rozier would give the Heat the ability to immediately add to its roster while remaining below the luxury tax line.
Rozier is currently on NBA leave and away from the Heat, with his arraignment scheduled for December in Brooklyn. The NBA is having the Heat place Rozier’s salary in an interest-bearing account, pending the resolution of his legal case.
CAREER DAY
Before the Heat left for Chicago on Thursday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke on Career Day at the school his two sons attend in Miami.
“It was a lot of fun,” Spoelstra said Friday. “I can’t believe it actually worked out with the schedule, where we were in town, where we had the morning off because we were flying out. But it was a nice surprise to be able to do that. I was able to speak to three classrooms, so that was fun. I think my boys enjoyed it. [My youngest son] Dante got to miss part of his class to be able to watch the presentation for his older brother’s class, so I think he liked that.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat will have 11 available players on Friday against the Bulls.
The Heat is without Vlad Goldin (G League), Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery), Kasparas Jakucionis (G League), Nikola Jovic (right hip impingement), Rozier (not with team) and Andrew Wiggins (left hip flexor strain).
Wiggins will miss his first game of the season on Friday and did not travel with the team to Chicago. The Heat is hopeful his hip injury is a short-term issue.
“It just got really tight the latter part of the fourth quarter [on Wednesday],” Spoelstra said. “He’s day-to-day. He also wasn’t feeling well that whole game. So that might have had an effect a little bit. But overall we’re encouraged by the prognosis on it.”
Jovic will miss his second straight game on Friday with his hip injury. He also remains in Miami.
“That’s something that he’s been dealing with a little bit, on and off,” Spoelstra said of Jovic. “So we want to make sure that we’re going to be taking care of it right now.”
