Bam Adebayo broke Udonis Haslem’s franchise record for career rebounds Wednesday night, grabbing nine in the Miami Heat’s 129-117 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The victory was Miami’s first of the season, ending a five-game losing start.
Adebayo now has 5,794 rebounds with the Heat, one more than Haslem, who held the mark since November 2012. Haslem was the longtime Miami captain, a role Adebayo took over when Haslem retired.
“Man, I can’t really put it into words,” Adebayo said in a televised postgame interview in Atlanta. He received the game ball from a team staff member after the game.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised the milestone, saying Adebayo had built his career on an iron will and a strong work ethic. Adebayo is also second on Miami’s all-time scoring list, behind Dwyane Wade, and ranks among the team’s leaders in assists, steals and blocked shots.
Only nine players have grabbed more rebounds since 2017-18, Adebayo’s first NBA season. Miami selected him 14th overall out of Kentucky in the 2017 draft.
