Inside The Heat

Bam Adebayo Sweats Through Florida Panthers Hanging For First Stanley Cup Victory

Shandel Richardson

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
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As a Miami Heat player, center Bam Adebayo is used to sweating.

Just not this much.

The Florida Panthers put Adebayo through a nerve-wracking experience the past week before finally finishing things off. They defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 Monday in Game 7 of the Stanley Finals to win the first championship in franchise history. The Panthers nearly lost a 3-0 series lead.

Here's what Adebayo posted on X after the victory: "Bruh…. Y’all had me sweating @FlaPanthers. But CONGRATS"

The Panthers win gives South Florida championships in all four major sports (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA) in the United States. The Heat were the last do it when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals. That was the last year a Game 7 was played in the area.

“It’s not a dream anymore. It’s not a dream. It’s reality,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it ... I can’t believe how good these two years have been. So thankful for this group of guys. It’s the best place, best guys. It’s something really special here with what we have.”

Last year the Heat and Panthers made the finals of their respective sports only to lose to the Denver Nuggets and Las Vegas Golden Knights. With the Heat losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round, the Panthers got a little payback for both organizations this season.

“This is the best moment of my life so far,” Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Nothing tops it.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here