“Stop Getting All Sensitive”: Stephen A. Smith Fires Back After Bam Adebayo Blasts Media

Bam Adebayo has spent most of his career as the steady two-way anchor of the Miami Heat, the kind of player whose value never fully shows up in a box score. He helped carry an eighth-seeded Heat team to the 2023 Finals and scored 83 points in a game last March.

Four games into the Giannis Antetokounmpo era, though, he’s in a shooting slump, and when he pushed back on the criticism, Stephen A. Smith pushed back on him.

The Heat dropped to 0-4 after a 113-109 loss to Dallas, their worst start to a season in nearly two decades. Adebayo finished with just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting, missing all five of his three-point attempts, while Antetokounmpo recorded his first triple-double in a Miami uniform with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.

Asked afterward whether learning to play next to Antetokounmpo was part of the problem, Adebayo owned the misses but took aim at how he’s being talked about.

“No, you can’t overthink basketball, man,” he said. “For me, it’s my shot not going in. I’m not going to overthink that. It’s funny how the outside noise wants to make me the scapegoat. But when the tables turn and the energy shifts, just be prepared for that.”

Smith responded on First Take. His message was that the people Adebayo should be ignoring are online, not in the media.

“Stop, bro. There’s a difference between the media and social media,” Smith said. “Don’t fall for that. That’s social media trolls talking that nonsense because they don’t appreciate how great you are … Stop the b----ing and whining and talking about the media! We don’t feel that way, we know you’re great.”

He also told Adebayo that four bad games come with the territory.

"It doesn't stop the story from being told, Bam," Smith said. "You got 82 games! All they're talking about is what they saw for the four games. You got 78 to go, and we all know you're big time! Stop getting all sensitive about someone pointing out what they're seeing right now. We all know it's a matter of time before you correct it and remind everybody how big time you are."

However, Adebayo has heard plenty already just four games in. After the season-opening loss to Minnesota, Kevin Garnett said on KG Certified that “13, 15 points ain’t no superstar s--t,” adding, “I need Bam to be 25 and 12!”

After the Dallas loss, Joe Johnson went after Adebayo’s aggressiveness on the Nightcap podcast. “Bam has to assert himself! We can’t blame Giannis for this!” Johnson said.

Shannon Sharpe went further, questioning whether Adebayo is a franchise player at all: “He’s a great complementary player. Ain’t nobody taking no Bam to build a franchise around!”

Through four games, Adebayo is averaging 11.8 points on 40% shooting. Numbers well below his career norms. Part of the problem is his pairing with Antetokounmpo.

Both guys are not reliable three-point shooters and like to dominate inside and score, and Miami is still trying to figure out how to get them to play together.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra offered a gentler version of the same point Smith made, saying Adebayo "just needs to see the ball go in" after getting clean looks he simply hasn't converted.

Adebayo has said that his fortunes will change, and he will get an opportunity against the Atlanta Hawks next to start proving that.