From Homebody To Hero: Miami Heat Captain Bam Adebayo On The Importance Of Giving Back

Photo Credit: Nick Garcia

BY LAURA SCHREFFLER

PHOTOGRAPHY NICK GARCIA

STYLING KIMMIE SUSSMAN 

GROOMING LESLIE MUNSELL

SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL MIAMI 

Life,” says Edrice Femi “Bam” Adebayo, “is about growth, trying new things, testing your limits. Right now, I’m embracing a whole new spirit of Bam!”

It’s been four years since I first sat down with the second-year Miami Heat captain for his first magazine cover, who, back then, was a self-professed homebody who got his kicks from playing chess, and existed entirely on a diet of Panera and pizza. He happily led a simple, quiet life of servitude with his mother, Marilyn Blount, by his side (and I do mean this literally, given that they previously lived in the same building, mere floors apart).

Fast forward to current day and the changes are drastic. Now 27, the University of Kentucky alum has the kind of success that most of us can only dream about — inclusive of two Olympic gold medals, three-time All-Star status, and the key to Miami-Dade County, among other accolades. He has firmly bid farewell to his culinary comfort zone, and now, counts himself as an adventurous eater and world traveler.

“Man, four years has flown by,” he declares. “There’s been a lot of changes. I’m a two-time Olympic gold medalist. I’ve added two All-Stars to the list. I’ve been to the NBA Finals. It’s a lot to think about, those past four years. But for the short summary, being able to travel the world with my mom — because she’s a big part of my life, who I am, and what I’ve done so far — and share those moments with her, means everything.”

This isn’t the Bam I remember, I say. That Bam Adebayo called himself ‘a homebody.’

“I’m still a homebody!” he insists with a laugh. “But when I travel, I just happen to be a homebody in a different place.”

How does that work? I wonder, aloud.

“What I consider to be a homebody is just staying out of trouble,” he explains.

This meant, on his first non-basketball-related international trip to London, branching out and going to different restaurants, hanging out on rooftop bars, going to soccer games — but avoiding partying, just as he does at home in Miami.

On a summer trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, ‘staying out of trouble’ meant something else entirely: it was code for ‘staying alive.’ He remembers, “I went to this animal sanctuary, and did a safari ride. I saw lions, elephants, anything you can name in the jungle. I was scared because the cars didn’t have bars. If the animals decided to flip the truck over, they could have. But, God willing, they didn’t. It’s a scary site when you really think about it, but to capture those moments, you really can’t put that into words.”

In addition to testing his limits (and his heart rate), the trip to Africa served a different purpose: it allowed Adebayo to fulfill one of his major life purposes: giving back.

Photo Credit: Nick Garcia

“I got to work with some amazing kids from all over Africa. Understanding where they come from and how they live is really eye-opening. Not a lot of people can understand what they’ve gone through in the way that I can — like them, I come from poverty. It’s a soft spot for me. Being able to teach them how to play basketball, having them look at me as a role model and ultimately, a friend, was pretty incredible.”

It speaks to his character that Adebayo would use a vacation to do something good, but then, that’s just who he is. He’s the guy who surprised his mother, a former cashier who once earned as little as $12,000 a year, by buying her a whole house as birthday present during his rookie year, mere weeks after signing a five-year max extension that could earn him close to $200 million. It was both an ‘I love you’ and a ‘thank you’ to the woman who took on the roles of both mother and father, raising him entirely on her own (he had limited interaction with his birth father, John Adebayo, who passed away in his native Nigeria back in 2020), struggling yet managing to make ends meet both in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey and then, from age seven, in North Carolina, where they lived in a single-wide trailer.

She is also the reason he created his BBB Foundation in 2017 — simply as another way of sharing his gratitude to the woman who gave him everything — and as a way of giving back to women like her in that its purpose is changing the lives of single mothers while developing future chances, choices, and challenges for their children; the non-profit strives to make positive impact in communities by providing resources, opportunities, and memorable experiences.

And, as always, together, they made the non-profit successful. In 2023, the BBB Foundation hosted over 200 children from Liberty City at Santa’s Enchanted Forest (the world’s largest holiday theme park) for his fourth annual toy drive, where every child received free entrance, two toys each, free food, and a surprise visit from both Santa and Adebayo. He also unveiled a newly designed basketball court and fitness center at the Chapman Partnership homeless assistance center, during which he personally challenged residents to multiple contests, including pushups and shooting drills. In 2024, initiatives included a Mother’s Day event for 13 mother-son pairs, offering a day full of pampering, surprises, and bonding; surprised patients at the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in July; and hosted a special event at the Chapman Partnership in Miami, unveiling a newly designed basketball court dedicated to helping the community. For the event, he partnered with Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade, who originally donated the court 10 years prior, in a passing-of-the-torch moment. He also executed a Thanksgiving Day event with former Heat captain Udonis Haslem, as well as a December toy drive projected to be the largest in Florida’s history.

But it isn’t just these planned moments that Adebayo lives for — he’s a giver through and through. “[To me and my mom], random acts of kindness don’t have dates or time stamps. It’s whenever, however, and whatever you want to do at that point in time. There’s no end goal when it comes to philanthropy: I want to continue to change and impact lives until the day I’m gone from this Earth. So hopefully, that won’t be until I’m 100 years old.” He pauses, and laughs, “Let’s make it extra dramatic and say until I’m 200 years old.”

Given that Adebayo has done so much in such a short period of time, it’s safe to say that what good he’s going to do in the future — regardless of

how much time he has to do it — will be substantial. Just look at what he did for his mother — and what she’s done for him. “I remember when I first wiped out all her debt: I could see the shift from stress to joy. To see her shift even further and do the same for others — take them from stress to joy — is heartwarming for me. She’s come a long way and I’m truly proud of her. She’s a staple in the Miami community now; people know her as Mama Bam. She comes to every game wearing a Mama Bam jersey; everyone knows who she is. Sometimes, people want to take pictures with her more than me, and it just speaks to the person that she is, speaks to the heart she has. I’m blessed to have a mom like that.”

Now that his mother is retired, she’s definitely taken on a more active role in building the organization, and her dedication has become essential while he’s in season. “We do always do stuff around Christmas and Thanksgiving, but over the course of the year, sometimes my mom will just call me and say something like, ‘I’ve seen two people I was in a nail salon with; I want to get them tickets to the game, take them to dinner, buy their kids stuff for Christmas, buy them gifts.’ She does random acts of kindness. A lot of people hear my mom’s story, and they connect with her. She tries her best to give them a helping hand by saying, ‘I’ve been through this, and nobody helped me, but I hear you going through what I went through, and I’m here to help you.’ It’s a blessing to see that she can change people’s lives without me being involved. I get to see that from afar, her making people cry tears of joy; I get to share those moments with her.”

Another big moment he shared was one of his most impactful to date: receiving a key to the Miami-Dade County community for his community work and Olympic achievements alongside five other Miami-based Olympians.

“It was such a surreal moment,” he recalls of that day late last October. “This isn’t something that’s given to everybody, and I can’t even put into words what it meant to be recognized as one of the people who are doing great things for the community and considered to be great representatives of the community. To be honored like that with the other Olympians, all from different walks of life, is amazing, especially because there’s the understanding that we share the same path and the same goal, which is to inspire and create a better environment for the community.”

See what I mean? He’s one of the good ones — and we all know exactly where he got it from.

Photo Credit: Nick Garcia

SINCE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT PERSONAL GROWTH, I can’t help but go back to the fact that Bam Adebayo once existed solely on a diet of Panera and pizza. But he had his reasons. First and foremost, he had just come from playing college ball in Kentucky, and the exotic cuisines of Miami were so foreign that it wouldn’t have seemed out of place had they come from Mars. Either way, he didn’t trust them.

“I remember getting drafted by Miami and just saying, I’ve never been here, so I don’t know what’s what to do. My rookie year, I was still trying to figure out places to go, places to eat. That was around the time where I ate Panera every day, because that was the only thing that I trusted. It was a culture shock to me. I was like, I don’t know where to go, don’t know what was good, but I know Panera I can count on because I’ve had it before. Now is different. I have a [personal] chef, but I also do go out and try new food, too. I try to find those amazing hole-in-the-wall restaurants — which Miami has a shocking amount of. There’s some great mom and pop places.”

Now, as he enters his eighth year playing in the NBA (he was selected with the 14^th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft) he can acknowledge how much he’s grown — and that exploration can reap some seriously great rewards, be it culinary, and otherwise. Rewards, if he’s being honest, that he didn’t really consider until recently.

“My goal when I got drafted was to literally just be able to take care of my mom. That was it. I was like, I want to be able to make enough money where I can

take care of my mom, and if I have kids, if I have a wife, then we can have a great life. It’s turned out to be so much better than I could have even imagined.”

The credit, he says, lies squarely with the greats that came before him — former Heat players like Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem, as well as coaches Juwan Howard and Caron Butler. “Having someone like Udonis Haslem, who was born and raised in Miami, in my corner, having D Wade in my corner, or Juwan Howard and Caron Butler — they got me out of my shell, away from sticking to the same certain things, and being able to experience stuff. They said, ‘How else are you going to learn if you don’t try?’ Life is about experiences, and if you don’t have those experiences, you can’t tell anyone else how to do or enjoy things, if that makes sense. Getting out of my comfort zone was a big thing for me. I knew I was growing, and there was going to be a time where the torch was being passed off to me. In order to do that, I had to get in as many experiences as possible. So, yeah, I’ve gone from a homebody who only eats Panera and pizza to somebody who can find a different restaurant every night for two weeks and be OK with trying new food all over the country. It’s definitely a 180.”

Although he can credit the greats who came before him, his fellow teammates, and his front office for the newly expanded horizons that have allowed him to mature as a person, a player, and a philanthropist, he has to give himself credit, too. Adebayo stepped up and rose to the occasion like the star athlete he is, gave himself permission to become the best possible version of himself; to always put his best foot forward (his best being clad in exceptionally large, size 16 shoes).

“When you hang around certain people and you see what they’ve done, you want to be somewhere up there or do something in that stratosphere, too. Being able to call D Wade and UD my big brothers and see what they’ve done for the city, the community, the franchise, you want to be a part of those moments. Whenever you ride past our arena now, you will always see D Wade, because he has his own statue. Like, what? When you see somebody else do it and you’re in those kinds of corners, in those conversations, it makes you dream bigger. It makes my imagination go so much farther than what I could have ever thought back in my rookie year, back when I was eating Panera every day.”

To highlight what that greatness looks like for him, it includes all the aforementioned substantial, life-changing accolades he’s received, and so much more. Last season, he led the Heat in rebounds and blocks (he’s known as one of the best defenders in the NBA). He also holds records including being fifth all time in points, fifth all time in total number of games played, fifth of all time in total rebounds, and fourth all time for defensive rebounds, all for the Miami Heat. He led Miami to the Eastern Conference Finals in three of the last five seasons, is a 5x NBA All-Defensive Team honoree, the 2020 NBA Skills Challenge winner, and is the youngest player in Heat franchise history to record a triple double.

Photo Credit: Nick Garcia

When I ask if he’s channeling the spirit of D Wade or a brand-new Bam, he quickly and adamantly shares his answer. “I’m embracing the new spirit of Bam!” he declares. “And I say that because I needed to grow. I needed to get out of my comfort zone. That’s what life is about. It’s about growing, trying new things. When I look back at my career, I can share stories that most people only dream of, like winning an Olympic gold medal twice; being able to sit on that podium and represent your country with some of the greatest players to touch a basketball in our game. Those are the stories I’ll want to tell.”

But surely, he’ll want to share who he really is, too. Bam the basketball player, the philanthropist, the person — all of it. This is his story, and so I ask him to share just who he thinks that guy actually is.

He says, “Bam, as a person, is somebody who is now very outgoing. The charisma has always been there, but he’s not shy anymore. When I was younger, I was really shy. Now when I walk in rooms, I can move the room, work the room. But Bam the basketball player still has his head down and is still determined to be better, still determined to take his game to another level. He’s still figuring out how to be the best version of himself, how to really understand the impact of winning, and how to win.

“Bam the philanthropist is still trying to figure out ways to impact his community and not do it the same way as others,” he continues. “Toy drives, back to school drives have all been done before, but how can we make it look different each year? How can we make Christmas look different?” He references what he did last year — a secret Santa moment for single moms, where he gave them a whole shopping spree experience plus nail appointments — courtesy of the BBB Foundation, but which was “gifted” from their children. This year, he wants to do one better. “I’m going to try to fill the arena with presents and get kids from my, UD, and D Wade’s foundations, as well as many more, to come to the arena. And it’s going to be a merry, merry Christmas from me. That’s what philanthropy Bam wants to achieve.”

Be it philanthropy Bam or regular Bam, Adebayo knows that his life is a gift, and as such, he wants to pay it forward. “The greatest luxury in life to me now is honestly being able to wake up every day and have a positive mindset. If you wake up every day this way, you cherish every moment of your life. You cherish the little things. You cherish the good things and the bad, because you understand there is no good without the bad, there is no being at the top if you haven’t experienced rock bottom. Understanding that process is how you find inner peace,” he says sagely, sounding much older and wiser than his 27 years.

It’s a good thing that Adebayo plans on continuing his personal growth, because I would have said it doesn’t seem like he could get much greater — or much more self-aware. But he has big dreams, and big plans for himself — and he doesn’t plan on giving them up now, especially when he’s this far ahead of the game.

“I would say the next step for me is just understanding that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. When we go through life, we want to do everything at one time, and it’s not like that. You’re going to have experiences all throughout your lifetime. For me, it’s about picking the right experiences, and being comfortable enough in my skin to appreciate those experiences. And then, obviously, I’m in a captain role now, so being able to share my experiences and do what UD and D Wade did for me — put other guys that are the younger generation rookies — one, two, three-year players, and explain my story, give them a vision of what they want to be. I plan on banking that equity with people and impacting the community as much as possible. I feel like that’s something that’s always going to be worth being able to grow with.”

And on that note, what else is there really left to say but… keep on growing, Bam Bam. Keep on growing. 

Photo Credit: Nick Garcia