Bam Adebayo punched his former Miami Heat teammate Tyler Herro during a brief altercation in Las Vegas on Friday, ESPN and The Athletic reported.
Both the Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks, Herro’s new team, confirmed to The Athletic that they were made aware of the situation, but they declined further comment.
Reports said the exchange took place on a practice court inside a hotel in Las Vegas, where NBA Summer League games are being held. Herro was with an AAU team that he runs. Adebayo approached him on the court and, after Herro said something to his ex-teammate, punched him in the “head area,” per ESPN.
Security at the court escorted Herro away, Adebayo also left on his own and Las Vegas police officers were not summoned to the scene, The Athletic reported.
Not long after the incident, but before knowledge of it became public, Herro participated in an interview with Amazon Prime Video ahead of a game between Miami’s and Milwaukee’s summer league teams.
“It’s all love. It’s all love in Miami,” Herro said. “I’ve seen a couple of the guys, and the coaching staff. Chris Quinn, Spo (Erik Spoelstra), front office guys. We are all good in Miami and just the opportunity for both sides to reset, get a fresh start and we’re both super happy for this.”
However, last week a series of direct messages between Herro and an anonymous fan leaked, showing Herro taking an apparent swipe at Adebayo’s defense.
“You should get paid 60 million to be a top tier defender on some nights? I’m just wondering,” Herro allegedly says in the messages.
The Bucks dealt Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat for Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round draft picks, a second-rounder and a pick swap.
Adebayo, 28, has played his full nine-year NBA career with the Heat and was teammates with Herro for the past seven seasons. Adebayo broke out for 83 points on March 10 against the Washington Wizards, surpassing Kobe Bryant for the second-highest scoring individual performance in NBA history.
Adebayo, who signed a three-year, $166 million extension with Miami in June 2024, had 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game in 73 games this past season. Herro, 26, averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists but played just 33 games due to injuries.
–Field Level Media
