Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo reportedly threw a punch at his former teammate Tyler Herro during a brief confrontation in Las Vegas on Friday, according to reports from ESPN and The Athletic.
The altercation took place on a practice court inside a Las Vegas hotel, where NBA Summer League games are currently being hosted. Herro was present with an AAU team that he oversees. According to ESPN, Adebayo walked onto the court, and after Herro made a comment to his ex-teammate, Adebayo struck him in the “head area.”
Security personnel escorted Herro away from the scene, while Adebayo departed on his own. The Athletic reported that Las Vegas police were not called to respond to the incident.
Shortly after the altercation — but before news of it became public — Herro sat down for an interview with Amazon Prime Video ahead of a summer league game between the Miami and Milwaukee squads. He spoke warmly about his time with the Heat organization.
“It’s all love. It’s all love in Miami,” Herro said. “I’ve seen a couple of the guys, and the coaching staff. Chris Quinn, Spo (Erik Spoelstra), front office guys. We are all good in Miami and just the opportunity for both sides to reset, get a fresh start and we’re both super happy for this.”
The upbeat comments came despite tension that had been building publicly. Last week, a series of private messages between Herro and an anonymous fan surfaced online, in which Herro appeared to take a shot at Adebayo’s defensive abilities.
“You should get paid 60 million to be a top tier defender on some nights? I’m just wondering,” Herro allegedly wrote in those messages.
Herro, 26, was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a major deal. In that transaction, the Bucks sent Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami in exchange for Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round draft picks, a second-round pick, and a pick swap.
Adebayo, 28, has spent his entire nine-year NBA career with the Heat and was Herro’s teammate for seven of those seasons. Earlier this year, on March 10, Adebayo erupted for 83 points against the Washington Wizards, surpassing Kobe Bryant for the second-highest individual scoring performance in NBA history.
Adebayo signed a three-year, $166 million contract extension with Miami in June 2024. This past season, he averaged 20.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game over 73 appearances. Herro, meanwhile, averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, though injuries limited him to just 33 games.
