Bam Adebayo delays his sleigh before making way to Orlando, as part of Heat holiday gifting
MIAMI – Bam Adebayo could have taken the easy way out of town for Wednesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center and simply boarded the team’s charter flight Tuesday afternoon. Instead, the Heat center remained behind so he could get ahead of the Christmas rush.
As part of his 13 Day of Christmas community events, the center who wears No. 13 spent Tuesday evening at Santa’s Enchanted Forest in Miami hosting 200 children from Liberty City with toy donations and entrance to the theme park, before joining his teammate in Orlando.
One of several Heat players hosting holiday events, Adebayo said his rise from poverty in a single-parent household left him appreciative of the impact he could make in a community he has called home since being drafted by the Heat in 2017.
“Like I’ve always said, when I was younger, I never had anybody from the town I lived, near my town, in my state, come and do things like that,” he said.
“And it’s really just to show ’em that people care about them, even though they feel like they’re down and out. Those are the situations a lot of us in the league have been in, where some people need a figure for them, I guess, they can look at, visually see where they come from and ask them questions and understand they made it from the same situation you’re in and you have a chance.”
Other elements of Adebayo’s 13 Days have included: time at the Allapattah Child Care center; hosting a holiday party for Camillus House featuring Miami Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo; upgrading seats for fans at two recent home games; surprising a fan with merchandise at the Miami Heat Store.
Other holiday-themed community events by Heat players have included:
– Guard Tyler Herro partnering with the Voices for Children Foundation and gifting 10 children $1,000 gift cards for a shopping spree at Nike.
– The Mourning Family Foundation of former Heat center current Heat executive Alonzo Mourning hosting 200 youths for lunch and a gift giveaway at Gulfstream Park.
– Former Heat forward and current front-office member Udonis Haslem hosting a shopping spree at Walmart for 100 honor-roll students, each given a $200 gift card. The event was renamed the 15th Annual B-Wootie Holiday Honor Roll Program, in tribute to his step-mother Barbara Wooten, who recently passed away.
– Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler also have hosted community events.