Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo revealed his list of five greatest basketball players of all time, but surprisingly excluded LeBron James. The four-time NBA champion’s omission earned Adebayo heavy jabs from the NBA community.
The Heat were considered one of the frontrunners in the race to sign James before he ultimately committed to the Philadelphia 76ers. Many expected him to reunite with the franchise he helped lead to back-to-back NBA championships.
NBA World Erupts After Bam Adebayo Leaves LeBron James Off His All-Time Top 5
Miami’s pitch became even more appealing after acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo in a blockbuster offseason trade.
If James returned, he would have formed a formidable roster alongside Antetokounmpo and Adebayo. However, the four-time champion ended speculation about the reunion by choosing to pair up with Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia.
Many think that is why Adebayo snubbed James in his top five NBA players of all time, which included Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and Tim Duncan.
Even as the crowd chanted James’ name, Adebayo stood by his choices.
Leaving arguably one of the greatest players ever off a top-five list immediately triggered backlash from netizens.
“Just got his feelings hurt,” one said.
Just got his feelings hurt pic.twitter.com/vBC021Bney
— Uncle Shay Brasil 🇧🇷 🟣🟡 (@UncleShayBr) August 2, 2026
“He didn’t say bron because he didn’t go to the heat btw,” a user remarked.
“So this is why LeBron didn’t go back to Miami,” another NBA observer wondered.
“He’s salty over LeBron not going to Miami,” a user bluntly wrote.
James’ dominance in the NBA is no secret, and his snub unsurprisingly became a hot topic.
The discussion also reached the “Nightcap” podcast, where former NBA player Josh Smith also suggested Adebayo may have been disappointed with James’ Sixers move.
“He prolly mad Bron didn’t come down there to South Beach and mess with him,” Smith said. “He salty man. Might be a little salty, man. Salt kills snails, not players.”
Josh Smith says Bam Adebayo is SALTY that LeBron didn’t come to Miami and that’s why he left him off his top 5 players list:
“He prolly mad Bron didn’t come down there to South Beach and mess with him. He salty man. Might be a little salty man. Salt kills snails, not players.”… https://t.co/1j3fYbTOsx pic.twitter.com/P4BMzkd4eF
— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) August 3, 2026
However, Adebayo insisted there are no hard feelings, saying, “Man I’m cool with Bron, I consider Bron like a brother honestly. We’ve been Olympic teammates, even before that we’ve always had down to Earth conversations. I’m happy for him, you want what’s best for somebody.”
The 76ers have landed one of the greatest players in NBA history, drastically boosting their chances of making a deep playoff run and potentially ending their title drought.
