A new quote from Bam Adebayo saw many fans and pundits wondering if he has an issue with LeBron James. The Miami Heat center received the NBA Social Justice Award in front of many young kids and was asked to name his top five players in NBA history. Despite having a close friendship with LeBron, he snubbed James from the top five players list and even ranked two current players above him.
Bam listed the following five players as being the greatest ever and all above LeBron in his rankings:
Kobe Bryant
All five are historically great players, but the list certainly stands out for underrating LeBron’s impact. Most older fans have Jordan clearly above James for his epic run helping basketball reach new peaks while winning six NBA Championships for the Chicago Bulls.
Bryant is another name that sometimes gets argued over LeBron due to how much he influenced the game in the 2000s with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, James often gets ranked second or third at worst when players do all time lists. Durant and Curry both getting placed over LeBron is truly shocking and out of the ordinary for a player as respected as Adebayo is across the league.
Bam Adebayo Commented On LeBron James
To his credit, Adebayo knew that his quote would lead to fans questioning if he was trying to intentionally disrespect James. The big free agency story saw the Heat becoming the favorites to land LeBron before he shocked the world by signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Despite having reason to hold some hostility towards James, Adebayo made sure to offer public praise to LeBron:
“I’m cool with Bron. I consider Bron like a brother honestly. We’ve been Olympic teammates but even before that we’ve always had down to earth conversations. I’m happy for him. You want what’s best for somebody. That’s really how you go from there.”
Both men developed a friendship during the 2024 Olympics where they won gold together for Team USA. Adebayo played over fellow big men Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid in some important moments that involved James on the court running the offense.
New Look East Will Create New Rivals
While Adebayo did offer respect to James, it still feels strange that he refused to list him as a top five all-time player. Another recent quote saw Bam revealing that he texted LeBron that he’d “bust his a**” when the teams play in the new look loaded Eastern Conference.
Miami, Philadelphia, and the New York Knicks all have strong goals to make the NBA Finals with a lot of star power at the top of their respective rosters. Any regular season game between these teams will create a lot of fan interest.
Other teams like the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics will also hope to contend for the title. LeBron returns to a conference that he completely dominated the last time he was here, but today’s East sees many teams expecting to beat him.
Bam Adebayo Snubs LeBron James From Top 5 All-Time List