Bam Adebayo has seen firsthand the impact Dwyane Wade has had on the Miami Heat organisation, and the 26-year-old says he wants to have a Heat career like the franchise great.
With the Heat set to conduct “Dwyane Wade Hall of Fame Night” on Sunday at Kaseya Centre, Adebayo expressed his desire to be remembered alongside Wade in the team’s history.
“It means everything,” Adebayo told the Miami Herald about completing his career at the top of the Heat’s record books alongside Wade.
Wade is the Heat’s all-time leader in numerous statistical categories, including games played, points, and assists. He won three NBA championships with Miami: in 2006, 2012, and 2013.
Adebayo has helped the Heat reach the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023, but has yet to win a championship.
“I want the moment of being on these walls, championship alley,” Adebayo was quoted as saying. “I want that so we can have the opportunity to say, ‘Alright, you’re No. 1 in this, and I’m No. 1 in this. I’m No. 2, and you’re No. 2. You have championships; I have championships.’ Those are the wonderful talks to have when you can walk into a room and sit at a table and say, ‘I know what it feels like to do what a lot of you have already done.’ And being able to present your side of the story.”
Wade was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this past summer, and Adebayo was invited to attend by his former teammate. He was a young player just beginning out in the NBA when Wade retired.
The guard spent 15 seasons with Miami, while the centre is in his sixth season with the organisation.
“Being able to be with a franchise for as long as you are and, two, bringing a championship and being at the top of all franchise records besides a man who won the first one here,” Adebayo said of Wade’s Heat career. “That’s an opportunity and that’s a blessing.”
Miami enters Sunday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets with a 22-16 record. Adebayo has missed time due to injuries and is averaging 22.0 points and 10.4 rebounds in 28 games. Earlier this season, he said Wade gave him guidance that helped him enhance his offence.
The University of Kentucky product is sixth in team history in points, rebounds, and blocks, so he has a chance to get closer to Wade in the record books. Doing so while simultaneously winning a championship or two would solidify his status as a franchise icon.
Wade, for his part, has remained a famous figure even after he retired from playing. The 41-year-old recently replied to head coach Erik Spoelstra’s lucrative contract extension and was effusive upon learning that the franchise would retire former teammate Udonis Haslem’s jersey.
If Adebayo does follow in Wade’s significant footsteps, it is possible that they will have many more wonderful nights and ceremonies in honour of one other and their
