The Miami Heat are 0-4 in their first season with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Monday’s 113-109 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks left them 15th in the Eastern Conference.

Now comments Bam Adebayo made about leadership in a sit-down interview released October 1, nearly four weeks ago, are circulating again. One fan is among those revisiting the answer, which centered on former teammate Udonis Haslem. Other fans have aimed pointed criticism at the Heat center.

Bam Adebayo’s Resurfaced Comments Draws Backlash

Adebayo, a three-time All-Star, sat for the interview in Miami before the regular season, with topics ranging from his Kentucky days and his 83-point game to his first year alongside Antetokounmpo.

About 22 minutes in, the conversation turned to the teammates he has played with. “Favorite teammate, Imma have to say Udonis…that’s my guy…he’ll punch you in the face forreal, I love that dawg mentality…I hated it that people tried to force him out,” Adebayo said.

He then described what Haslem did for him personally: “y’all don’t even understand the behind the scenes of how he’s mentoring me because I never wanted to be captain…everyday he was like ‘you gotta say something in the huddle’…I was like bro ‘will you leave me the [expletive] alone.'”

On Tuesday afternoon, the day after the loss to Dallas, one fan returned to that answer and posted, “Concerning to look back at this.”

Elsewhere, another fan brought Tyler Herro into the conversation: “maybe they should’ve kept Herro instead.”

Herro now plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Miami acquired Antetokounmpo, a two-time MVP, and Bobby Portis from Milwaukee, sending Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, and a package of draft picks the other way.

Those picks included the No. 13 selection in the 2026 draft and unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033. The deal came after Miami reached the Play-In Tournament in four straight seasons, and it put Antetokounmpo alongside Adebayo in the frontcourt.

The criticism also turned to Adebayo himself. Another fan wrote, “It makes sense why he isn’t a superstar. The mind ain’t right.”

Another fan took the criticism a step further: “Imagine paying a max contract to a guy who’s ducking leadership responsibilities.”

Adebayo’s answer in the interview did not stop at his pushback, though. Directly after recalling his reply to Haslem, he added, “but now that I’m obviously older I understood it.”

“I’d be [expletive] if I was a Miami Heat fan,” another X user said.

He also pointed to what Haslem meant to the team, saying he “kept our locker room together, some of those Finals runs — he was a big part of that because he was in our locker room.” Miami’s most recent Finals trip came in 2023, when it entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and lost to the Denver Nuggets.

Monday’s loss was Miami’s third in four days, after a home defeat to the Detroit Pistons on October 23 and a road loss to the Charlotte Hornets on October 24. Adebayo had 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting against Dallas, including 0-of-5 from the 3-point range, with 8 rebounds and 3 assists in 30 minutes.

Miami will try again for its first win Wednesday at the Atlanta Hawks before hosting the Indiana Pacers on Friday and opening a five-game road trip on November 2. Herro and the Bucks visit Kaseya Center on November 18.