Bam Adebayo with his mother after winning the skills competition at the NBA All-Star Game this year. (Twitter Photo)
One of my favorite celebration moments after the Miami Heat beat Boston Sunday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals was listening to former Kentucky star Bam Adebayo talking about his mother, Marilyn Blount. She was such a joy to talk to during his one year at UK and Adebayo often mentioned not only how important she was to him but also how much he wanted to be a successful professional so he could take care of his mother financially. She often worked two jobs — and walk to work — while raising him as a single parent and found a way to make sure he had everything he needed.
“I am so happy to see my mom. Y’all don’t understand. I don’t get to see her but at least I get to see her in the stands,” Adebayo said at the postgame press conference.
Remember Adebayo and other players have been in the NBA bubble. He’s not been able to be around family and friends. For someone as close as he is to his mother — they live together in a condo in Miami — that’s a burden even when you are playing as well as Adebayo has in the playoffs.
“We’ve been waiting for moments like this my whole life, and all these good things that’s been happening to me and now I get to be in the Finals and she gets to watch,” Adeyao said.
“Where we come from … most people don’t make it out and just to be one of those people that made it out and is making an impact on his team and his self and his mother, that’s a big accomplishment for me.”
Actually, it’s a big accomplishment for anyone but it is especially nice to see Adebayo sharing it with his mom this way. She moved from Newark, N.J., to North Carolina when he was 7 years old and obviously the move paid off for them both.
