Bam Adebayo will be 31 years old by the time the 2028 Summer Olympics roll around, and presumably still playing at a high level. Thus, he was probably already on a short list of guys who are likely to make the team — but with Erik Spoelstra now leading the charge for USA Basketball after he was named head coach earlier today, Adebayo feels like a shoo-in to make the team and play for his coach (who will hopefully still be his coach in 2028).
The head coach of the Olympic team isn't the sole decision-maker in who makes the roster, so it's not as though Spoelstra will hand-pick Adebayo to be on the roster. But familiarity between coach and player can't hurt Adebayo's standing with the team, especially after he's won gold with the team at the past two Olympics, in Tokyo in 2020 and Paris in 2024. Adebayo played nine minutes in the gold medal game in 2024, scoring two points in his short stint on the court.
Spoelstra and Bam in the Olympics would make Heat fans proud
Both guys have been part of USA Basketball for years; Spo was the top assistant to Steve Kerr, and the top candidate to take over Kerr's job once he departed the position. Now that has come true, and Heat fans get to see their guy run the show at the highest level.
It's important for the USA Basketball coach to not play favorites for his own guys. But they've been with each other in Miami since Bam was drafted in 2017, and nearly a decade of chemistry is nothing to scoff at.
The only potential roadblock between now and 2028 is that things change so quickly in the NBA and there are no guarantees that both — or either — guy will still be in South Beach three years from now.
I'm not speaking that into existence, don't worry! It would require a pretty drastic change of heart from the front office for either guy to not be with the franchise by then. Spo is one of the best coaches in basketball and Bam is as reliable as they come, and a consistent pillar for this team.
Erik Spoelstra gets his well-deserved shot to run the best basketball team in the world, and Bam has a clear path to a third Gold Medal (assuming Wemby and France haven't taken over the world by then). It's a good day for Heat nation!