Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo, who grew up in trailer, surprises mom with new home

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo struggled growing up in North Carolina.

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But weeks after the All-Star signed a $163 million contract, that could be worth up to $200 million with incentives, he knew exactly how to spend it. He bought his mother, Marilyn Blount, a new home for her birthday.

“My mom never had nothing that she could call her own,” Adebayo told ESPN. “So growing up and being able to do something different with basketball and be a special player, that was something that I’ve always had in my mind, I’ve always wanted to do. And just having the opportunity to do it for my mom is an incredible experience.”

Adebayo, 23, was born in New Jersey and later moved to North Carolina, where he started playing basketball. He played at Kentucky in college and was drafted 14th overall in 2017. He was an All Star last season and named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team.

He surprised his mother with the house for her 56th birthday.

“Just seeing that woman go through all she went through and finally getting a break and being able to say, ‘This is mine,’ and ‘I own this,’ that was a big thing for me,” he told reporters. “My mom’s never owned anything, so I always wanted her to own something that she could say, ‘This is mine’ and feel good about it. I wanted her to have 10 toes down (feeling) this is my house.”

Near the front door hangs a photo of the trailer they once called home.

“I wanted everybody to see where we actually came from,” Adebayo said. “And that doesn’t matter who walks in. You’re going to always see that picture. My whole goal (of) putting it there was just so everybody can see where we actually come from. And where I was raised at, what I went through, the struggle to get my mom a brand new crib and the conditions she lived in. So that’s the main point of the picture.”

Cox Media Group