Bam Adebayo has officially become Miami’s new team captain since the retirement of Udonis and he’s opened up about what it means to him.
Haslem surprised Bam by giving him a jersey with his number 13 on it and a “C” on the front during a preseason training day.
“It was just an adult moment for me and UD because I’ve always seen him as a big brother to me,” Adebayo told the Miami Herald. “He was damn near my best friend on the team. Getting that torch from him, we’ve had so many emotional conversations about situations like that. Having the chance to be a champion, a captain, thinking about future endeavors.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called it “one of those special moments in all of our careers to be able to see a guy who’s the culture bearer for us kind of symbolically pass that on to the next guy.”
Thinking about where he’s come from and what he wants to achieve, Bam isn’t taking the position lightly.
“It was a surreal moment because I remember walking into this situation just trying to get in where I could fit in,” Adebayo said. “Fast forward to now, the coaching staff, [Haslem], the organization looking at me in Year 7 like I’m next in line to carry this torch. It’s a real blessing. It definitely comes with a lot of opportunity, but a lot of responsibility. I’m just looking to carry that torch the best way I can just like UD did.”
Of course, his big goal is to lead the team to their first championship since 2013 during the LeBron James era.
It will be an uphill battle for Bam, since Miami have gone 1-4 to start the season.
But as we know, the Heat are the biggest underdogs in the league and are full of surprises.
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