Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo Finally Gets Full Olympics Experience In Paris

Shandel Richardson | Sep 5, 2024

Aug 10, 2024; Paris, France; United States guard LeBron James (6) and centre Bam Adebayo (13) celebrate with their gold medals after defeating France in the men's basketball gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images / Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo only received a portion of the experience during his first Olympics in 2021 in Tokyo.

That year was shortly after the Covid pandemic, so access was limited. The games were played in front of no fans, so Adebayo enjoyed when things returned to normal this summers in Paris.

"We had fans," Adebayo told Miami Heat On SI. "That was the biggest difference. Having fans, being able to be in that environment where you see Serbia pack the house. When you see the South Sudan and how far the country has come to be where it is now. You see people really start to embrace only the team but the country."

Adebayo said this time was more enjoyable because of the eased restrictions. He got a chance with his teammates.

"We were in there watching dudes play Madden, college football, playing cards," Adebayo said. "I feel like it was a very AAU-type of environment in my eyes." 

Adebayo also addressed the fans thinking he was building a stronger relationship with LeBron James. While Adebayo has much respect for James, he was content with spending time with all of his teammates for the summer.

 "It's funny how everybody just thinks LeBron hangs out with everybody but I feel like it wasn't necessarily like certain people.I feel our team was an AAU team. We hung out with everybody." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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