Bam Adebayo Struck Former Teammate Tyler Herro After Alleged Social Media Shade

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The NBA news cycle took a break from LeBron James and the free agency frenzy on Friday afternoon as a different kind of transaction came to light.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Bam Adebayo and former Heat teammate Tyler Herro got into a physical altercation which saw Adebayo strike Herro at a practice court in Las Vegas on Friday morning. Per The Athletic, Herro said something to Adebayo when he walked onto the court and Adebayo punched him without hesitation in front of Herro’s AAU team. Adebayo was confronted by Herro’s AAU coach and Herro yelled at him as he was escorted out by security. Both Adebayo and Herro were in Las Vegas as the Heat and Bucks faced off in the NBA Summer League. Herro attended the game, but Adebayo did not.
Per Charania, Adebayo approached Herro after he made comments criticizing him on social media. Adebayo and Herro were teammates for seven years on the Heat before Miami sent Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, Kel’el Ware, three first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Bucks as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
What Tyler Herro Allegedly Said About Bam Adebayo
Following the trade, Herro allegedly threw shade at both Antetokounmpo and Adebayo on his burner social media account. On his purported burner Instagram, Herro posted a graphic that listed Antetokounmpo as the worst midrange shooter in 2025 and Adebayo as the 10th-worst. He also allegedly shared messages to a Heat fan which were leaked. Some of these comments included Herro allegedly saying “You should get paid 60 million to be a top tier defender on some nights? I’m just wondering” and “Why are Heat fans so worried about me and what I do? But I’m not the best player on the team right?”
One unnamed NBA player reacted to news of the altercation, per ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, saying, “That doesn’t seem like a fair fight.”
According to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Heat are aware of the incident but have decided not to comment on it. Winderman also noted that Herro said, “My only comment is no comment.”
The Miami Herald spoke to the Heat fan that leaked the alleged messages with Herro. The fan said to Barry Jackson that he and Herro had been sending messages to each other since February and he decided to leak the comments since he thought they were “dissing” Adebayo. He added, “I get that people say it’s a bad look, but I posted what people needed to hear.”
The alleged comments from Herro are in contrast to the thoughtful message he put out after the trade, expressing gratitude for his time with the Heat and to multiple members of the organization. While Herro did not appear to have any public beef with Adebayo before his post and the alleged messages, Jackson reports that there was some resentment from multiple Heat players that Adebayo was given the huge contract extension and never included in trade rumors.
After seven overall seemingly positive years together, Adebayo and Herro are officially ending their tenure as teammates on a sour note. While the Heat will move on with Antetokounmpo helping Adebayo and Co. turn into a contender, Herro returns home to Milwaukee as a building block for the Bucks and their future.
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Eva Geitheim is an NFL writer at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor’s in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or rewatching Gilmore Girls.