Bam Is The Last Man Standing From The Bubble

By the Heat Nightly Desk · Wednesday, September 23

On September 23, 2020, the Heat beat the Celtics 112-109 in the playoff bubble, a game on the road to that year's NBA Finals. Bam Adebayo is the only player from that roster still in Miami's camp six years later.

Heat Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

The Bubble Win

Six years ago today, the Heat beat the Celtics 112-109 in the 2019-20 playoffs, part of the run that carried Miami through the Orlando bubble to that year's NBA Finals. Miami lost that Finals to the Lakers. The team on the floor that September was built around Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, with Erik Spoelstra on the bench.

One Name Left

Adebayo is the only player from that roster still in Miami's camp, now 29 years old and entering his ninth NBA season. Butler was traded away in early 2025. Herro is not on this year's roster either. Spoelstra is the other constant — the same coach who ran that bench six years ago is running this one.

A New Cast

Everyone else around Adebayo is new. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson anchor a camp that added Bez Mbeng off waivers today and locked up Pelle Larsson on a four-year extension five days ago. None of those four players were on Miami's roster when it beat Boston in the bubble.

What Carries Over

HEAT Culture is the mantra stitched into the black City uniform, the identity Miami has tried to carry across every roster turnover: conditioned, physical, harder to play than the record suggests. Pat Riley built that standard, Spoelstra has enforced it since 2008, and it is the one thing linking this training camp to the team that beat Boston six years ago.

Bottom Line

None of that history plays games. Miami is 0-0, with camp underway and the opener set for October 21 against Minnesota. Adebayo and Spoelstra are the bridge between that Finals run and whatever this season becomes; everyone else on the roster is starting a resume of their own.

Is Bam Adebayo the last player from Miami's 2020 Finals team?

He is the only player from that roster still on the Heat's roster. Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro are both gone.

Has Miami played a game this season?

No. The record is 0-0, with training camp underway and the opener scheduled for October 21 against Minnesota.