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At a moment the Heat need to rebound, Adebayo stands on verge of Haslem’s rebound record
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- At a moment the Heat need to rebound, Adebayo stands on verge of Haslem’s rebound record
ATLANTA — It has been 14 years since Udonis Haslem pushed Alonzo Mourning aside in the Miami Heat record book, his second rebound against the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 21, 2012 making him the franchise's all-time leader.
"The memories are what I'll save," Haslem said at that moment. "The memories are what I'll really hold on to."
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With seven more rebounds from Bam Adebayo, that's all Haslem will have, are the memories.
Since Adebayo's arrival in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft out of Kentucky, Haslem sensed that the chase would be on, as Adebayo kept hoarding boards and Haslem slowed toward retirement.
"I love him," Haslem said of his successor as Heat captain.
Yet, when it came to his record, Haslem quipped, "But I don't love him that much."
No matter, the moment is at hand, albeit at a juncture when neither the Heat nor Adebayo are playing well .
Still, as soon as Wednesday night at State Farm Arena against the Atlanta Hawks, the Heat's circle of rebounding life will move forward, just as it did when Mourning passed Rony Seikaly atop the Heat rebound charts.
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Now in his 10th Heat season with his lone NBA franchise, Adebayo already tops the Heat's all-time leader boards in defensive rebounds and double-doubles.
But it is the rebound record that Adebayo has coveted.
"Obviously, it's a great moment. You work so hard in your career where you can have moments like that, where you can be first in something in the franchise," Adebayo said this week of surpassing a player he has grown to respect. "It just shows my body of work of what I've done in this game."
While the journeys have been different, with Haslem doing it as an undrafted player, the work ethic has proven similar.
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"The way I was going to make my niche to make this team was to hit the boards and rebound," Haslem said during his run to the franchise rebounding record. "It's just a tribute to my mindset. If you put your mind to it, and I know people say it a lot, but if you put your mind to it, you can do it."
Eventually recognizing that Adebayo was on his heels.
"When I was playing," Haslem said, "every time I got one rebound, I used to look at him and say, 'That's another record.' "
With Adebayo gaining while Haslem, 46, has been in retirement since 2023, working since as a Heat executive and NBA on Prime analyst, Haslem acknowledged it only was a matter of time.
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"If I could pick anybody to break my record, it would be him," Haslem said.
To Adebayo, the record practically is homage.
"Like I've said, being part of this organization, the guys ahead of me, records are meant to be broken, but they want you to earn them," Adebayo said.
For Adebayo, the timing hardly is great , with the Heat 0-4 for the first time in his career, and with his early-season struggles ongoing. But he also said it is merely part of the journey.
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"Can't overthink basketball, man," he said following Monday night's home loss to the Dallas Mavericks. "For me, it's my shot's not going in. It's funny how the outside noise wants to make me the scapegoat, but when the tables turn … when the energy shifts, just be prepared for that.
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"The media gonna be the media. They gonna try to bury you when you're down, and then it's quiet when you're up, so you expect that from the media."
Through it all, through the peaks and valleys of Adebayo's Heat career, the rebound record is a passing of the torch that coach Erik Spoelstra said is a just passage.
"It's a testament to his consistency," Spoelstra has said of his team captain. "That's what records are there for, to be broken, especially when it's quality people that are breaking records."
For Adebayo the respect is ongoing, calling it, "the ultimate respect to surpass somebody like that who has won three championships, went undrafted, been with this franchise 20 years."
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Injury report
Simone Fontecchio did not travel Tuesday with the Heat to Atlanta due to illness, but potentially could join the team in time for Wednesday night's game. He is listed as doubtful.
Pelle Larsson (ankle) is listed as probable.
No other players are on the Heat injury report.
