After initially calling LaMelo Ball’s foul on Bam Adebayo a “dangerous play,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra took a more measured tone when revisiting the situation during Thursday’s exit interviews, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I’m not really thinking about that anymore,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “I said what I had to say about it. I didn’t think that he needed to be penalized more moving forward. I don’t think that would make sense. I don’t think he’s a dirty player.
“I just think, at the moment, both things can be true. In that moment, it was a dirty play, a dangerous play. It should have been caught at that moment, but it wasn’t. And then, you move on.”
Adebayo also addressed the play, noting there’s no prior history with Ball that would suggest any lingering tension. Tests on his back, including an X-ray, came back clean, and he has not undergone an MRI so far.
“Obviously, I’m still walking, so I’m OK,” Adebayo said after walking gingerly, but without any assistance, to the microphone on Thursday.
End-of-season notes on the Heat, including more thoughts from Erik Spoelstra on the play that injured Bam Adebayo: https://t.co/po9zcgFzeM
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) April 17, 2026
