It's pretty clear now. The NBA's deep disrespect of the Miami Heat must be considered a direct shot at Bam Adebayo. And if there's one thing the NBA's schedule release should do for the Heat, it's that it will offer Bam one of the biggest sources of motivation for the upcoming season.
Heading into the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, Bam should have a huge chip on his shoulder. If things do fall the right way, it could set up the Heat for a truly underrated campaign.
The Heat are irrelevant in the NBA's eyes
After the NBA released the official regular-season schedule, it quickly became clear what the league believes about the Heat. Thinking about it more deeply, it paints a pretty obvious picture of the disrespect that surrounds Bam as a star player.
Miami checked in as a team with one of the fewest scheduled nationally televised games, with just five. There were only seven teams with fewer national TV games than the Heat, none of which made the postseason last year.
This doesn't make sense.
Last year, the Heat had 13 nationally televised games. Sure, Jimmy Butler is no longer in a Heat uniform, but Miami, if anything, is a better overall team today than they were for the majority of last season. Especially with Jimmy checked out.
And while it could be difficult to get excited about a team led by Tyler Herro and Bam, especially with the way they ended last season, the NBA putting the Heat in the company it just did with their schedule release should be extremely insulting. Essentially, the NBA just said that the Heat are irrelevant.
Bam should take it personal
Of all players, Bam should take the most offense.
I don't think anyone believes the Heat are going to contend for a title this season, but one thing that is being grossly overlooked when projecting this team moving forward is the presence of Bam. Sure, Herro is an extremely flawed star, but Bam doesn't have nearly as many holes in his game.
If anything, the biggest criticism of Bam is that he isn't always aggressive enough on the offensive end of the floor. It's quite telling of the type of player he is that the biggest knock on him is that he doesn't shoot enough.
From a talent perspective, there's nothing holding Bam back from putting this team on his back toward a season to remember. And this "shot" from the NBA may be exactly what Bam needs to get him back on the right psychological track.
No one is expecting anything from the Heat this season. If there's a moment where it's finally going to all come together for Bam, this is it.
After the blatant disrespect that Bam (and the Heat) have experienced this offseason, it's time to translate that motivation into on-court production. Contrary to popular belief, Bam and the Heat could be a sleeping giant in the Eastern Conference this season.