Bam Adebayo showed up to the ESPYs in New York on Wednesday as a nominee for Best Single-Game Performance after dropping 83 points on the Wizards back in March. He didn’t win — Shohei Ohtani took that award — but the Miami Heat center still made headlines for something that happened offstage.
Adebayo was caught on camera in a very animated conversation with Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. And the internet, being the internet, ran with it.
One fan account called Heat Central posted a clip claiming the two were definitely talking about the moment Tyler Herro got punched by a teammate during Summer League in Las Vegas. Their caption was blunt: “Tatum was telling Bam he should’ve called his phone. He would’ve pulled up.”
Let’s be clear here. That’s speculation. Pure fan fiction with a side of screenshots. Nobody has confirmed what Adebayo and Tatum were actually saying. But the clip went viral because people want it to be true.
Adebayo and Herro were close during their time together in Miami. Herro’s sharp criticism of the Heat after getting traded to Milwaukee last season didn’t go unnoticed. And the punch incident at Summer League — where a Bucks teammate reportedly clocked Herro during a scuffle — only added fuel. So the idea that Adebayo and Tatum were rehashing that drama? It’s not impossible.
But here’s the thing: Adebayo and Tatum go way back. They’ve known each other since their teenage years and stayed tight through their NBA careers. They could have been talking about anything. Maybe they were discussing Jaylen Brown, who was linked to the Heat before Boston shipped him to Philly. Maybe they were complaining about the catering at the awards show. Who knows.
Meanwhile, Herro himself has publicly said he wants to move past the whole Summer League mess. His focus is on the Bucks and getting a fresh start. So maybe the internet should follow his lead.
Or maybe it shouldn’t. Because this is the NBA offseason and we’re all starved for content.
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