Wade Continues to Call Adebayo Next Face of Heat: ‘It’s Not Pressure, It’s Just Opportunity’

This is nothing new. Retired Heat legends Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem have said over the past few years that they view center Bam Adebayo as the next face of the franchise.

But Wade made it loud and clear in recent days while in Miami to celebrate the unveiling of his bronze statue in front of the Kasey Center.

“Being here with the future face of this organization, Bam, means everything because he gets it, he gets it,” Wade told the crowd during a public event Thursday, teaming up with Adebayo to show off. the new and improved basketball court at the Chapman Partnership in downtown Miami, which was originally donated by Wade years ago and recently renovated by Adebayo.

Then, speaking to the crowd outside the Casey Center about his own Heat legacy just minutes after unveiling his statue during Sunday’s ceremony, Wade again made it clear how highly he thinks of Adebayo by placing him on the same list as , perhaps the three most iconic people. Heat players in franchise history.

“Those are the words and actions that Zo (Alonzo Mourning), UD, myself and now Bam have stood by and continue to stand by,” Wade said near the end of his appearance on Sunday.

This isn’t much of a surprise considering Adebayo took over as Heat captain when Haslem retired after the 2022-23 season. It’s also not surprising because Adebayo is a Heat draft pick (unlike Adebayo’s colleague Jimmy Butler, who joined the Heat as a free agent in 2019 as an established NBA star) who has developed into one of the league’s best two-way players — already with three NBA All-Star Game appearances and two Olympic gold medals at age 27.

But Wade’s words still carry weight, especially when he repeatedly mentions Adebayo in the same breath as himself, Mourning and Haslem.

“First of all, it means I’m doing something right,” Adebayo said before Wednesday night’s game against the New York Knicks, which will cap a two-game homestand. “Secondly, they believe in me. They believe I’m carrying the torch, they believe I’m bringing this franchise to the promised land.”

Adebayo, who is entering his eighth NBA season, is showing a pace that would make him one of the Heat’s all-time greats if he spent all or most of his career with the organization.

At Adebayo’s current pace, he and Wade could end up tied for first and second among the Heat’s all-time leaders in categories including two-point field goals, free throws, assists, steals and points, among others. Adebayo also appears to be on track to pass Haslem as the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder within the next five seasons.

“We’ve always — UD, I, the organization — have been in communication with Bam for a long time at this level,” Wade said over the weekend when asked about Adebayo being announced as the next face of the franchise. “It’s not pressure, it’s just opportunity. I mentioned Alonzo Mourning, I mentioned Udonis Haslem, I mentioned myself, and then I mentioned Bam. Mentioning Bam with likes like that is respectful because we see him as someone who will continue to use everything we’ve learned here and everything we’ve passed on to make this organization successful.”

Adebayo is under contract with the Heat through the 2028-29 season, when he turns 31, after signing a three-year max contract extension worth about $166 million last offseason.

“You don’t have players like that, they don’t come around often,” Wade continued about Adebayo. “You have a lot of talented players, you have people doing great things. You don’t have core individuals who can take over your culture and support it. So I just talked about it and talked to him.”

The next step for Adebayo is to win his first NBA championship. The Heat’s leading duo of Adebayo and Butler have led the Heat to three Eastern Conference Finals appearances and two NBA Finals appearances in their first five seasons together, but they have yet to win an NBA title.

“I want to be a part of the victory,” Wade said. “I’m not going to lie to you guys, I was jealous when I watched the Boston Celtics game last night because I saw Kage (Kevin Garnett), Paul Pierce and Ray Allen there. … I thought, ‘I want to be that guy.’ I want to be the old man who comes back when the team wins the championship. Therefore, it is important for me to set this example and be one, but not be the only one. So we’re grateful to Zo because he set it up and UD and I followed suit. And Bam should be grateful to us because we established it and now he follows it. So hopefully that will continue.”

MEDAL RECOGNITION NIGHT

The Heat announced they will hold Medal Recognition Night during Monday’s game against the Sacramento Kings at Kasea Center, honoring Adebayo, Nikola Jovic and Erik Spoelstra for their work at the Paris Olympics last summer.

Adebayo won his second Olympic gold medal with Team USA. Spoelstra was an assistant coach for Team USA.

Jovic won his first Olympic medal, a bronze medal with Team Serbia.

A banner with Adebayo’s second Olympic gold medal is expected to be unveiled in the rafters of the Kaseya Center on Monday to commemorate the achievement. He will be the first Heat player to wear two such banners, along with four others honoring players who won one gold with the Heat – Mourning (2000), Tim Hardaway (2000), Wade (2008) and LeBron James (2012).

Jovic will not receive a banner because he did not win gold in Paris.

INJURY REPORT

Josh Richardson was added to the Heat’s injury report late as he is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Knicks with a sprained left calf.

Richardson was available and in uniform for the first time this season in Monday’s home win over the Detroit Pistons, but he did not play in the game.

Richardson missed the entire preseason while recovering from right shoulder surgery in March and then was unable to play in the first two games of the regular season with enthesopathy in his left heel.

The Heat will be without Kevin Love, who will miss his fourth straight game due to personal reasons. Josh Christopher will also be unable to play in the Heat’s game against the Knicks as he is currently in the G League as part of his two-way contract.