NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CELTICS VS. HEAT

September 27, 2020

Bam Adebayo

Miami Heat

Game 6: Postgame

Miami Heat 125, Boston Celtics 113

Q. You obviously were hard on yourself the other day. What were the last 48 hours like for you to kind of get your groove back today and just the fourth quarter, you took over kind of as a scorer, what was the mentality at the end?

BAM ADEBAYO: Let my teammates down again in Game 5. You know, I just had to realign myself and who I really want to become. Showed that tonight. You know, you said you wanted to see me be a scorer in the fourth, well, there you go.

It's just one of those things, you know, coaches they want me to be better and they want me to do great things. That's the first time I got plays, back-to-back, back-to-back. Being in that moment and embracing it and taking over is a great thing for me. But at the end of the day, we got four more. Our business isn't done yet.

Q. Is that a situation where you liked the matchup or the way you were feeling or Coach Spo telling you to attack, attack, attack?

BAM ADEBAYO: After the game, after Game 5, I put that on myself that my teammates would never -- would never have that type of performance from me again. For those 24 hours, I was locked in, and my family know how I get when I play bad, or especially we lose, I put that on my shoulders because I feel like I could have done something different.

Tonight I did something different and came out being extra aggressive and just locked in. I made a promise to UD. When you all see UD, you ask him -- I can't tell you.

Q. Not many guys have put up the type of numbers you just did in a close-out game? Does any of that matter to you or is it about just four more wins?

BAM ADEBAYO: (Holding up four fingers) I take a big part of the responsibility, even though my teammates don't want me to, but I put that weight on my shoulders. I've got to perform. At the end of the day, I left it all on the court and we ended up with a W.

Q. You talk so much about the relationship with Jimmy, but if you go back even farther when you see from a distance, this guy in Minnesota who had a lot of chaos surrounding -- did you have an opinion about him, and then once you were in the same gym with him, how did his personality hit you and his intensity?

BAM ADEBAYO: I didn't have an opinion about him because I didn't know him. I would never judge a man by his antics and what he does -- until I can meet him, just talk to him, have dinner.

When Jimmy came into this team, he wanted to get in where he fit in. It wasn't -- he didn't come in like, this is my show and this is how I'm going to do it; this is my way or the highway. He came in and bought into the system. He didn't care if he scored. You know, you've got to think about that. A lot of max players, they don't have the ball, they get upset. I appreciate Jimmy because at the end of the day, we feed off each other. He was letting me loose on the floor.

Q. First of all, now Jimmy Butler will bring you free coffee after you advance to the NBA Finals, but how special is it, what makes it so special? Is it the chemistry? Is it the passion, the dedication for the win? Which is the point that makes this team so special?

BAM ADEBAYO: I think the thing that makes this team so special is we really kick it with each other. We really hang out. I feel like that's the best thing. No matter who it is. We can all go to one another's room and go get something to eat. That's the thing I love about this team man because at the end of the day, we all feel like brothers and this is a moment for a lot of us that a lot of us ain't never been in. Ain't nobody ever been the Finals, except Andre and UD. Before the game, before the series started, UD said it's going to be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Q. Do you think this team has the DNA of a championship team?

BAM ADEBAYO: Of course. I'm settling for nothing less. We're going to enjoy this one for the night and then get back to business.

Q. Obviously this is your first season as an All-Star. Last year you were just sort of becoming a starter. When did you start believing that this sort of thing was possible and not just a dream?

BAM ADEBAYO: That preparation, my coaching staff really put it in my mind that that's something I could be. Just got to keep being aggressive and doing my thing. My teammates want me to be great and I want my teammates to be great. At the end of the day, we push each other to be better, and that's what I love about this organization. There's no, you get a day off. That's one thing in our DNA, the guys in the locker room love to work. We love the grit. We are all underdogs. That's what I love about this team.

Q. You pointed a finger at yourself Friday night and said, "I let my teammates down." You took all the responsibility. Tell me about how that decision to put all that pressure on yourself impacted your ability to take this team home tonight, and why do you put so much burden on your shoulders at age 23?

BAM ADEBAYO: Age ain't got nothing to do with that, man. UD been telling me for the last three years, I'm going to have to sit in that seat one day and I really been pushing away from it, I'm not going to lie. I've been trying to make UD just stay a little longer, man.

I felt like it was my fault. I felt like I wasn't doing the things necessary for us to win that game and tonight that was a different mindset. I knew I couldn't let my teammates down like that again.

Q. LeBron has been the Finals in the last nine of 10 years now. The first one of those, you would have been 14 years old. How much fun are you going to have going against him in the Finals?

BAM ADEBAYO: It's going to be fun. It's not only just going to be LeBron. Our team has so many dudes that never been there and we finally get to be in it -- we got an underdog mentality, man. We've had the underdog mentality this whole season, and when we get in these Finals, anything could happen. It's a toss-up. Just going out and do what we've been doing, preparing and looking in and just keep building.

Q. How much have you and Jimmy already been talking to Andre and Udonis about how to defend him in the Finals?

BAM ADEBAYO: We haven't started yet. We're going to celebrate this moment tonight and be grateful for the things that we've accomplished so far, and we're going to talk about that tomorrow.

Q. Having a guy like Coach Spo lead the way helps, but what's it like knowing when you look up you see someone the stature of Pat Riley there, guiding you along the way, not just during the bubble but throughout the regular season?

BAM ADEBAYO: He didn't assemble this team for us to just play 82 games and go home. That's not the reason why he brought Jimmy here. That's not the reason why he drafted me and not the reason why he got Andre and Jae or Solo and Derek. This is all preparation on how can we win a championship. I love this team he brought together because we are all underdogs. We're here now. That's been one of my dreams to be in the Finals. I grew up watching Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and LeBron in the Finals and it crazy that I get to walk on the Finals floor and actually play. It's going to be a great moment for all of us. Pat wouldn't have assembled this team unless he knew we had great things ahead of us. I appreciate Pat, the Riley family, Spo and his family. Everybody from the top to the bottom, I appreciate it just because they believed news.

Q. I just want to ask you about your mom coming this week and being a part of this special moment with you?

BAM ADEBAYO: I am so happy to see my mom. Y'all don't understand. I don't get to see her but at least I get to see her in the stands. You know, we've been waiting for moments like this my whole life, and all these good things that's been happening to me and now I get to be in the Finals and she gets to watch. Where we come from -- most people don't make it out and just to be one of those people that made it out and is making an impact on his team and his self and his mother, that's a big accomplishment for me.