Herro’s decision after Adebayo confrontation, and the fan in middle responds
Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo appear inclined to move past the dispute that resulted in the Heat captain reportedly taking a swing at his former teammate on Friday.
In the wake of the incident at a Las Vegas hotel, Herro -- as of Monday afternoon -- had neither filed a police report nor filed a lawsuit against the Heat captain.
Whether the NBA plans to move on, without disciplinary action, is a decision that apparently hasn’t been made.
A league spokesman told the Miami Herald that it’s undetermined if the league will investigate. An NBA investigation would be common practice for any matter that could result in disciplinary action.
“There is believed to be surveillance footage to be reviewed, but at this point [there has been] no investigation from the NBA,” ESPN’s Shams Charania said.
The Heat has declined to comment on the matter. And while the Heat has the authority to discipline Adebayo, such discipline (at least in the form of a suspension) would be surprising unless the NBA were to pressure the team to do so.
Police were not called in the wake of Friday’s incident at a Las Vegas hotel, the Las Vegas Police Department told the Miami Herald.
Meanwhile, Charania said “Herro is not pursuing any legal action as of right now of course. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo clearly have some sort of falling out that potentially began last season. My understanding is both Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo want to move on from this situation.”
According to The Athletic, the incident took place “in front of an AAU team run by Herro” when “Adebayo walked onto the courts and Herro said something to him. Adebayo approached Herro and, without hesitation, punched him. Herro’s AAU coach confronted Adebayo, and Herro yelled at his former teammate while being escorted out by security personnel. Both players left the scene on their own.”
According to a source, the comments that angered Adebayo stem from screenshots of an Instagram direct message conversation shared on X in recent days that show a profile seemingly run by Herro critiquing Adebayo.
“Why are Heat fans so worried about me and what I do? But I’m not the best player on the team right?” the account that appeared to belong to Herro wrote. “I didn’t say any names. I’m just saying, should an elite defender be making 60 million a year? Answer that.”
Adebayo was the Heat’s highest paid player last season and is due $49.5 million this season. He has been named to an NBA All-Defensive team across six different seasons.
On Instagram last week, Herro also posted a graphic listing the league’s worst midrange shooters last season. Newly-acquired Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was listed as the worst at 26.8% and Adebayo was listed as the 10th-worst at 35.9%.
Asked about his social-media posts, Herro said earlier during his interview with two Heat beat writers on Friday: “You’ve seen it.” Asked about what to make of those social media posts, Herro added, “I don’t know either. I don’t know either.”
A Heat fan who identifies himself as Greg Johnson on X said he publicly posted Herro’s private messages criticizing Adebayo, triggering this firestorm, because he was angered that Herro publicly posted Adebayo’s poor mid-range field goal percentage.
The fan, who says he’s a Toronto, Ontario-based accountant, said Monday: “I feel bad. I didn’t want Herro to get punched. To think this led to two players fighting is crazy. If they were close, I feel bad they were not friends anymore. This is crazy to me.”
A player who has played in the NBA with both Adebayo and Herro said the tension had been simmering for a while and said the perception of several players is that Herro was resentful that the Heat gave Adebayo two contract extensions but declined to give a second extension to Herro since he became eligible a year ago.
Herro - who played with Adebayo for seven years - always praised Adebayo publicly but also had grown weary of dealing with the trade rumors that Adebayo never has been subjected to, the source said.
Herro was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks last week in a deal that sent two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat.
Adebayo has been working out in Nevada during the Las Vegas Summer League but hasn’t made himself available to reporters.
Here’s our Monday piece on the Heat’s interest in Klay Thompson and other personnel notes.
This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 5:35 PM.
