LeBron James shocked the NBA world by choosing the Philadelphia 76ers instead of making a dramatic return to the Miami Heat. Fans in South Beach probably dropped their cafecitos in disbelief. Meanwhile, Heat star Bam Adebayo had a simple response: no hard feelings, but don’t expect a warm welcome when they meet on the court.
Bam isn’t crying over spilled free agents, isn’t posting sad emojis or mysterious quotes on social media either. Instead, he’s planning to let his game do all the talking. That’s probably the smartest move. Trash talk sounds cool, but posters last forever.
LeBron had plenty of options this offseason. Every contender wanted a piece of the King. In the end, he packed his bags for Philadelphia instead of heading back to Miami, where he won two NBA championships and created one of the league’s most unforgettable super teams.
When the Heat and the 76ers face off, Bam wants to remind LeBron that business is business.
“Like I told him in the message, I’m going to bust his a–,” Adebayo said Tuesday when discussing a text he sent James, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “So, it’s going to be an exciting season. I’m excited for the East. We got a whole new turnaround in the East. So, it’s going to be exciting this year.”
James went with Philadelphia instead of the Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, among others.
That means hard screens, tough defense, and making every basket feel like it came with a gym membership.
Choosing Miami or Cleveland would have been something of a full-circle moment for the future Hall of Famer seeing how he won championships in both cities during previous stops, and Golden State would have given him the chance to play alongside the other player who has largely defined an era of NBA history in Stephen Curry.
But the 76ers may be better positioned than all of them to compete for what would be James’ fifth championship with a core of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe in place.
“There ain’t no disappointment,” Adebayo said. “To me, you should always be happy for a person and their decision. He made a decision where he feels like it’s his best situation to win. And I feel like I’m a good friend of LeBron’s.”
LeBron may have chosen Philadelphia, but Bam plans to make sure every meeting with Miami feels like a reminder of the team he left behind. Expect smiles before tip-off, fierce battles after it, and plenty of fireworks whenever these two stars share the court.
