Adebayo, Seikaly reflect on an historic Heat night. Adebayo now eyes another team record

Miami Herald

04-03-2025

With a resume including two NBA Finals appearances, three All-Star Game invitations and two Olympic gold medals, Bam Adebayo didn't necessarily need to set a franchise record to validate his status as a standard-bearer for Heat culture.
But now he has accomplished that, too, after a night in which the Heat's past and present neatly intersected.
With Rony Seikaly in attendance, Adebayo on Monday broke Seikaly's record for double-doubles in franchise history. His 222nd double double was achieved before the first half ended in a 106-90 Heat victory against the hapless Washington Wizards. Coincidentally, it also was achieved during the segment that Seikaly was appearing as a guest on the FanDuel Sun broadcast of the game.
'When I got here, I wanted to mark my name in history, whatever that may be,' Adebayo said afterward. 'To be able to be a franchise leader in something, I'm blessed to have that.'
And having Seikaly there to witness it was meaningful, more so because the two men met for the first time recently in a visit arranged by Heat television voice Eric Reid.
'It was a special moment because he was here and was on the broadcast when I did it,' Adebayo said. 'I'm so glad to get that record out of the way. I've been trying to break that record for the past three games and the rebounds were not falling my way.'
When Reid called Seikaly recently to tell him that Adebayo was on the verge of breaking his record, Seikaly was taken aback, unaware he still held the record.
'It didn't come to my mind until Eric Reid brought it up,' Seikaly, now 59, said. 'I thought it had been broken in the past. When I set that record, I never thought it would come this far. It's a blessing I have been able to carry it this far with all the great players that have played in this organization. Fortunately, I'm alive to see it. Usually you're long gone.'
And, he said, 'I couldn't be happier passing the torch to someone who works as hard as [Adebayo] does.'
Seikaly — who was the Heat's first ever draft pick, picked ninth overall out of Syracuse in 1988 — set the Heat's double-double record in 439 games in a Heat jersey; Adebayo established the new mark in his 547th game. Seikaly has the edge in rebounds per game in his career, 9.5 to Adebayo's 8.9.
Seikaly, who spent his first six seasons with Miami before stops in Golden State, Orlando and Brooklyn, once had 34 rebounds in a 1993 Heat game against Washington.
'I got pulled out of the game with six, seven minutes left or I could have had 38,' he said. 'The whole game slowed down. As soon as the person shoots it, I could see where the ball would end up. I had a Spalding diet. I wanted to get every ball I could get my hands on.'
He said his meeting with Adebayo was 'amazing to me. I watched him play in the Olympics this summer. I admired the hustle and grit and everything he brings to the game. Meeting him in person, he's a lot bigger than I thought. I haven't been around tall people in a while. Great character, very humble. He's real.'
Seikaly, 6-11, appreciates that the 6-9 Adebayo 'is kind of the glue that does all the work. Bam is your prototypical player that every team needs — doesn't require a lot of maintenance, doesn't really need the ball to be successful in a team game. Those guys are a lot harder to find than it is guys that require the ball and attention.'
During a chat with several reporters on Monday, Seikaly spoke about how the game has evolved since he last played in the NBA, in 1999 with the Nets:
'The game has changed so much. I miss seeing back-to-the-basket players and not necessarily guards posting up. Bam would have been a great power forward in my time. He reminds me a little of [former Bulls standout] Horace Grant. We would have made great teammates. He wants to play more of a face-up game, and I like to play more with my back to the basket.'
During a rare visit back to a Heat game, Seikaly warmly greeted the team's first coach, Ron Rothstein, telling him 'I miss your fro' and also embraced former Heat assistant coach Tony Fiorentino.
Seikaly, who was born in Lebanon and speaks four languages, said he spends about six or seven months of the year in Miami and 'the rest on a plane traveling somewhere.'
After his playing career, he was a professional DJ and music producer and has run a multimillion-dollar real estate investment company.
'I did all the homework and all the studying I could do in investing,' he said. '... I always thought I am going to be more successful and make more money than I was playing basketball so' that he could maintain the same lifestyle.
As for Adebayo, the next challenge is playing Cleveland's imposing front line when Miami visits the Cavaliers on Wednesday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Sun).
From a broader perspective, Adebayo's next career statistical goal is surpassing former teammate Udonis Haslem on the Heat's all-time rebounding list. At his current pace, that should happen during the 2026-27 season. With 4,852 rebounds, Adebayo is still well behind Haslem's franchise-record 5,791 snagged over 20 seasons.
After Monday's game, Haslem called Adebayo, and Adebayo put the end of their FaceTime call on speaker phone before beginning his postgame interview.
Haslem cracked that he doesn't want Adebayo to break his rebounding record. 'I love him... but I don't love him that much,' Haslem said.
Adebayo made clear he's eyeing that record: 'That just would be the ultimate respect to surpass somebody like that who has won three championships, went undrafted, been with this franchise 20 years.... I'm going to catch him at some point.'
(Adebayo, incidentally, is fourth on the Heat's all-time scoring list at 8511, behind Dwyane Wade, who scored 21,556 points with Miami, Alonzo Mourning and Glen Rice, who each topped 9000.)
Adebayo then turned introspective.
'It's been a blink,' he said of his first 7 ½ seasons with the Heat. 'I was telling this story to somebody earlier. When I got here, [coach Erik Spoelstra] literally looked at me and said 'You're supposed to be a development player.' I was like 'Dang, why did you draft me?'
'To go from that to now, it speaks to the hard work and support. Knock on wood, I haven't had any major [injuries] happen. To be able to play every game, I'm just blessed to be in this situation.'