Lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy is the biggest goal for an NBA player. However, an Olympic medal is something that they cherish for emotional and patriotic reasons. Recently, Bam Adebayo spoke about the importance of the gold medal from his Olympic debut in 2021, naming it as one of his top 10 life essentials.
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When Adebayo appeared on GQ Sports’ “10 Essentials” segment, apart from displaying his books, jewelry, perfume, and other products, the Miami Heat star also revealed his Olympic gold medal to be one such essential. He didn’t really have to explain why the medal made it to the list.
But the center admitted that the “real” medal was in the safe and the one he brought for the shoot was a “fake” $20 worth replica, hilariously urging fans to steal the same.
“This is my next essential – my Olympic gold medal. I mean, obviously, it speaks for itself. It’s definitely fake. The real one is in a safe. If somebody wants to steal, it’s probably like $20. You can get away with it until they test it.”
Adebayo talked about his Tokyo Games experience. Due to COVID-19, fans weren’t permitted to watch the game from the stands. Hence, Team USA had to “generate their own energy”, per the All-Star. Additionally, due to the Summer Games being organized in a bubble-like environment, Adebayo also revealed that the entire team shared a strong sense of camaraderie.
“We won this in Tokyo 2020 where there was still COVID, you know, we had no fans. For us, it was a lot of, you know, doing nothing, just sitting there. That was probably one of the closest teams just because we literally couldn’t go see anything else. So it was literally just us in the hotel. But being in Tokyo you had no fans, so it was kind of like we had to generate our own energy. You know, I’m glad we came on top this time.”
The 2020 Olympics squad might have been a close unit. However, the squad representing the USA for the 2024 Olympics could be one of the greatest teams that Adebayo has ever been a part of. He’s proved to be a crucial piece in Steve Kerr’s rotation on the roster that already consists of the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and other potential Hall-Of-Famers.
Ahead of the Paris Games, Adebayo revealed the mentality of this team.
“I think we have the potential to be one of the best teams that’s been in the Olympics on the side of the USA squad… For us, it’s keeping the main thing the main thing, that’s winning the gold medal. And then we can talk about that later. Obviously right now, the opportunity at hand is to go out there and compete and win games and win the gold. Until we do that, then we can talk about the best team and whatever is assembled, the Dream Team. We’ll talk about that after we get the gold.”
Team USA has had an undefeated run to the finals, playing some phenomenal basketball. And Bam Adebayo is doing his part in helping James and Curry lead the squad. Apart from being the team’s anchor on the defensive end, the 6ft 9” star has also averaged 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds while coming off the bench.
With the American side expected to defeat Victor Wembanyama and the French team in the finals, Adebayo will certainly rank this gold medal higher than the previous one.
