Bam Adebayo will miss the Miami Heat’s final preseason game, leaving the team without one half of its new frontcourt pairing before the regular season begins.
Adebayo will remain in Miami because of his groin issue when the Heat visit the Orlando Magic on Friday, Oct. 16. Dru Smith also will miss the trip with a calf injury.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is among the players traveling. The update settles Adebayo’s availability for the exhibition finale, but it does not establish whether he will play in the regular-season opener.
It also leaves Erik Spoelstra with another night to evaluate alternatives at center while Miami’s preferred frontcourt combination loses its final preseason game opportunity together.
What the Heat have said about Bam Adebayo’s injury
The groin problem also kept Adebayo out of Wednesday’s exhibition against the Brooklyn Nets. The issue was identified as right groin tightness, and Adebayo is day to day.
Wednesday’s injury report also listed Smith as unavailable with his calf injury and Pelle Larsson as out because of illness.
Spoelstra offered a measured assessment before that game. He said he’s not “overly concerned” about Adebayo’s groin.
Thursday’s travel decision adds another missed game to that picture, without providing a new diagnosis or a return date.
The available reporting does not establish that the injury has become more serious, and Spoelstra’s earlier assessment should not be treated as a promise that Adebayo will be ready for opening night.
The Heat host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 21. There are five days between the Orlando exhibition and that opener, giving Miami a stretch without games before its first regular-season availability decision on Adebayo.
That calendar creates room for another update, but it does not supply a recovery timetable. For now, the confirmed basketball consequence is that Miami will finish its exhibition schedule without Adebayo on the floor.
Nick Richards gives Miami a recent lineup option
Spoelstra already has used one alternative with Adebayo unavailable. Against Brooklyn, the starting group featured Nick Richards alongside Antetokounmpo, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Davion Mitchell.
That arrangement kept a center next to Antetokounmpo and allowed Miami to examine Richards with several of its established perimeter players.
It provides a recent example of how Spoelstra can organize the frontcourt, although Friday’s starting lineup had not been announced in the travel reports.
Richards also enters this stretch with his own roster question. As Heat Nation covered in its look at Miami’s upcoming Richards decision, Spoelstra has praised the center’s ability to collect difficult rebounds while identifying details in his pick-and-roll defense that still need attention.
Those are separate parts of the evaluation. Winning a contested rebound can finish a defensive possession, while executing the coverage correctly helps determine the shot Miami allows before the ball reaches the rim.
Another appearance with rotation players would give Richards a chance to work on both responsibilities in a setting relevant to a potential regular-season role.
Adebayo’s absence makes that evaluation more immediate, but it does not settle Richards’ future. An exhibition start establishes how Miami used him that night; it does not guarantee a permanent place in the starting five or a particular share of regular-season minutes.
Bam’s absence also affects the Heat’s playmaking plans
Replacing Adebayo involves more than filling the center position. Spoelstra has outlined an offense in which Adebayo helps create opportunities for Antetokounmpo, giving the newcomer possessions where he can attack without initiating the action himself.
In comments included in Heat Nation’s Sept. 30 coverage of Antetokounmpo’s adjustment, Spoelstra explained that shared responsibility.
“It’s about playmaking, it’s about cutting, it’s about Giannis sometimes playing off the ball and Bam making the play,” Spoelstra said.
The pace of Miami’s offense adds context to that work. Transition accounted for 24.9 percent of the Heat’s possessions in the 2025-26 season. Antetokounmpo averaged 1.21 points per transition possession over the preceding five years, compared with 1.13 for the rest of the league.
Those separate records help explain the appeal of adding him to Miami’s attack. They do not measure how the new pairing functions together, particularly when opponents force the Heat to organize a half-court possession.
Friday therefore removes an opportunity to see that particular combination against another team. Miami can continue evaluating Antetokounmpo with other big men, but those possessions will answer different questions about who initiates the offense and how the players around him move.
Smith’s absence adds another layer. Earlier this month, Spoelstra discussed using multiple players to organize the offense while Smith recovered.
His options included Adebayo, Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jovic, along with opportunities for Ryan Conwell, Tre Donaldson and Larsson.
With Adebayo and Smith both unavailable Friday, one of the experienced frontcourt creators identified in that plan will be missing alongside the injured guard.
That leaves the remaining players to handle the exhibition workload and gives Spoelstra a different combination of ball handlers to assess.
Larsson’s situation also remains relevant to that group. He had dealt with headaches and limited practice participation, as detailed in Heat Nation’s Tuesday report on his interrupted preseason, before being ruled out Wednesday.
Thursday’s travel update includes Larsson among the players making the trip, but traveling does not establish that he has been cleared to play. The same distinction applies to Antetokounmpo and the rest of the traveling roster.
Playing decisions are expected closer to Friday’s 7 p.m. game.
Miami’s final exhibition will consequently provide another look at its available combinations, with the full lineup still to be determined.
Adebayo’s next availability update will carry the more consequential answer: whether the Heat can begin the regular season with both of their frontcourt stars together.
