"That's just the hunger in us, it's just like 'nah we want to win'" - Bam Adebayo on the Jimmy Butler-Udonis Haslem incident, says there was nothing personal in the argument
Looking back a few weeks, Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat looked to be heading into a tailspin. After dropping a game to a shorthanded Philadlephia 76ers squad, they once again found themselves down to an undermanned team. This time, it was the Golden State Warriors without Steph Curry and Dramond Green.
Given the circumstances, emotions were running high on the Miami Heat bench. Things got so intense that at one point Jimmy Butler needed to be separated from head coach Erik Spoelstra and longtime vet Udonis Haslem.
At the time, it was not a good look for the Eastern Conference's top team. Jimmy Butler has had incidents like this in the past, and some thought it could lead to the Heat unraveling right before the playoffs.
During a recent appearance on JJ Redick's 'The Old Man and The Three' podcast, Heat center Bam Adebayo explained that things were blown out of proportion.
"Because of the foundation we built as brothers, it doesn't last more than a day, and it shouldn't."
All athletes are fierece compeitiors, and sometimes that raw emotion can boil over. As Adebayo put it, the minor scuffle was a testament to how intense everyone on the Heat is when it comes to winning basketball games.
"That's just the hunger in us, it's just like 'nah we want to win that bad.'"
Our full conversation w/ Defensive Player of The Year candidate, Bam Adebayo (@Bam1of1) is LIVE on all platforms. 🔥
Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epi…
Watch: youtu.be/uuEW4jCNHyA https://t.co/3EqTmAnO2k
Jimmy Butler incident an example of 'Heat Culture'
Over the years, the Miami Heat have built a reputation of having one of the best cultures in the entire NBA. 'Heat culture' is a term thrown around a lot in the basketball community, and was certainly a factor when they made their finals run in the bubble two years ago.
To put it simply, a scuffle like this could cause a meltdown in most NBA locker rooms. Jimmy Butler is viewed as the team's top player, and getting into a battle like that with a coach mid-game is not great from a morale standpoint.
Despite this meltdown, the Heat have managed to turn things around nicely. They are currently riding a five-game win streak and have secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference. This run proved Adebayo's point that the argument was overexaggerated.
About a week ago, Erik Spoelstra and Jimmy Butler had a fight and went on a 4 game losing streak. Everyone talked about it.
Since then the Heat have won 5 in a row and basically secured the 1 seed. Nobody talks about it… most slept on team in the league? 👀 https://t.co/GNKnnr5ndV
"You see the rest of us didn't overreact."
Few teams in the league could have bounced back from a situation like that better than the Heat. Their tight-knit culture was put to the test, and they managed to come out the other side. Now, the Heat's primary goal is to make their way back to the Finals.