On the night that the Miami Heat fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals, Heat big man Bam Adebayo caught a glimpse of the title champs’ victory party.
Taylor Rooks wrote about life within the NBA bubble for GQ.com, with a variety of stories from different perspectives. In Adebayo’s case, he engaged in nightly walks as a way to deal with the monotony of living within an enclosed environment.
His walk after Game 6 of the finals helped him realize that the season had truly come to an end.
“Whenever the sun went down, Bam Adebayo would take a left out of the back lobby of the Gran Destino and go for a long walk along the perimeter of the hotel’s campus to clear his head and ‘get a somewhat different look from Groundhog Day,’ he says,” Rooks wrote. “He went on his walk after losing Game 6 of the NBA Finals, even though the route took him past the Three Bridges restaurant, where the Lakers were celebrating their championship win over the Heat. ‘At that point you realize the season’s over,’ says Adebayo. ‘That was part of what was going through my mind: This is the last walk for my routine. Of being in the bubble.'”
Adebayo’s frustration at the Heat’s finals loss was magnified by the fact that an injury kept him off the court for two of the six games.
The Heat split those two games, but the presence of Adebayo as well as another injured Heat starter, Goran Dragic, could have conceivably made a difference in the series.
Despite the Heat’s loss, the 23-year-old Adebayo took a major step forward in his third NBA season, earning his first selection to the All-Star Game.
Adebayo’s performance has put him in line for a major contract extension, though the Heat need him to wait before he signs such a deal.
If the Heat wait to re-sign Adebayo until after the 2020-21 season, they would be in a better position to acquire a major talent such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bradley Beal or Victor Oladipo.
Such a scenario would strengthen Miami’s title hopes. That could ultimately lead to Adebayo celebrating a championship of his own in the near future.