Bam Adebayo on the players who shaped his approach to the game: Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Lamar Odom, Chris Bosh

Do you feel responsible for the “superteam” trend after you got LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join you in Miami? Dwyane Wade: Not responsible for a superteam. Maybe responsible for players getting together and making a decision. I don’t know what was done that preceded us. We definitely watched Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. We definitely watched Magic Johnson play with many great Hall of Fame players. We watched Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, and so forth. We’ve seen it before. -via HoopsHype / April 19, 2025

“Looking back I think you just gotta not take each day for granted because you never know when an issue could come up,” he said of the last few weeks. “Obviously there’s people with way worse issues than I’ve dealt with, so I don’t want to be dramatic about it, but you just never know when something could come up and change your life. It’s been guys like Chris Bosh who dealt with this and then it’s another issue and it could be a career-ending thing so I think you just can’t take days and opportunities and things in your life for granted. That’s kind of how I look back at the experience.” -via Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel / April 18, 2025

Rich Paul: I always love a big two. I don’t really love a big three. I don’t. I don’t, really. People talk big three, but I—you know, the big three thing has never really worked. And you say, ‘Well, what happened in Miami?’ That wasn’t really a big three. There were three guys that were winning the lottery, and they did really well individually on their team. So they put up big numbers and had big accomplishments. But when you think about it, Bosh was the ultimate professional. He took a back seat, and he played a role in which—because he had such a high IQ and he was such a professional as an individual—his approach to everything is what made that work. -via YouTube / April 15, 2025

Jorge Sierra: Jaylen Brown (age 28) passed Kevin Garnett in playoff scoring tonight. He’s No. 42 in history. He also moved ahead of Robert Horry in three-pointers for No. 17. -via x.com / May 16, 2025

Keerthika Uthayakumar: Anthony Edwards is 35 points away from passing Kevin Garnett to become the Timberwolves all-time playoff scoring leader. -via Bluesky / May 15, 2025

Udonis Haslem: Hey, David West, what they don’t understand is that when we first came into the league, the power forward position was the most petrifying position in the league. You had Chris Weber one night, you had Tim Duncan one night, you had a young Elton Brand, you had Kevin Garnett, you had Dirk Nowitzki, you would get your *ss tore up at the power forward position. -via YouTube / May 13, 2025

Asked if any current players remind him of Lamar Odom during his Clippers days, Bam kept it real: “Nah! L.O. was one of a kind, man… you can’t recreate that.” He pointed to Odom’s unique blend of size, flair, and creativity — “that city flow,” as Bam described it — as something you simply don’t find in today’s game. As for Tim Duncan, Adebayo made a compelling comparison. “I would say Nikola Jokić just from a fundamental aspect… an older Kevin Durant.” He wasn’t talking about KD the scorer, but the surgical, methodical Durant of recent years — a technician who, like Duncan, “gets to his spots” no matter what. -via ScoopB.com / May 19, 2025

Jorge Sierra: Rudy Gobert passed Lamar Odom in blocks for No. 61 in NBA playoffs history. He also moved ahead of Willis Reed in rebounds for No. 78 all-time. -via Bluesky / May 1, 2025

Flagg’s first-team All-American season makes him a challenging case study because elite prospects have special qualities that set them apart. The diversity of their skill sets often call to mind several different players at once. Here are five players whom NBA scouts tell us they’re leaning into as they go through their own evaluations for Flagg. These comps are designed to illustrate his range of outcomes and highlight his strengths on both sides of the ball. Jump to a Flagg comp: Jayson Tatum | Kawhi Leonard | Lamar Odom | Scottie Pippen | Andrei Kirilenko -via ESPN / April 3, 2025

James would continue on, reflecting on his time with Popovich at the Olympics in 2004 and the overall admiration he has for the legendary coach: “It was just the admiration. For me, I was just an 18-year-old kid and I got an opportunity to see it when they won a championship in ’99 and then when they won it again I believe in 2003. So I already had admiration for Pop and his San Antonio teams. I was on the team, I was a young guy alongside Carmelo Anthony, we were young guys, Dwyane Wade, we were super young and to be a part of that team, obviously we didn’t succeed like we wanted to succeed. But to be on a team with like Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan and Coach Pop, Larry Brown, that was just like another welcome to what greatness is all about. To see what Coach Pop has left this game as far as controlling the sidelines for as long as he did and the amount of wins that you just mentioned, the amount of championships, great players that he’s seen come through the San Antonio franchise. It’s just been a complete honor and for me to have a real personal relationship with him that every time I see him, it’s just so much respect and so much honor. He definitely will be missed… Obviously we know health is most important, but we cannot shy away from the fact of what he was able to accomplish on the sidelines.” -via Lakers Nation / May 9, 2025

With the Heat out of the postseason, is Bam pulling for anyone? “Hell naw! I want everybody to lose,” he joked. Still, that doesn’t mean he’s not watching. Adebayo gave props to the Timberwolves — specifically, Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle — for their grit. “They got two dogs… it fuels the team,” he said. -via ScoopB.com / May 19, 2025

The Nuggets have increasingly played zone defense throughout this series to challenge Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a driver. It has taken various forms, from 2-3 to 1-3-1 to a metamorphosis into man defense mid-possession. At its simplest, Jokic has been tasked with playing quarterback for the two defenders up top. “Bigs are always in charge of communication. The zone is a whole other level of communication,” Adelman said. “I don’t think people realize — like, watching Bam (Adebayo) in Miami — the responsibility of not being part of the actual play that’s going on. You are the person that’s kicking people left and right.” -via Denver Post / May 17, 2025