When Bam Adebayo landed on Jayson Tatum’s ankle during the second half of Game 4 while contesting the latter on a warm-up shot, the NBA community smelled a new beef brewing between the Celtics and the Heat star. JT even confessed to the press after the game that he was “mad” at that moment. However, things did not turn out as badly as expected. The 5x NBA All-Star was elated to wish his Team USA mate well as the latter celebrated his birthday.

Sharing an adorable picture of himself hugging the Heat star, JT posted an Instagram story on Adebayo’s birthday with the caption, “More life my brotha @bam1of1 🤞🏽“. Playing for the Dream Team 2.0, it seems that the NBA All-Stars have left behind the stench from their past to move on for the gold run at the Paris Olympics. It was evident from the term that Tatum used to address Adebayo, which was “brotha.” Apparently, “brotha” is a slang term used to represent a brother or close friend. Well, since we know that Bam is not the brother of JT, maybe the Celtics star was referencing the brother from another mother’s adage.

Nonetheless, Bam Adebayo has entered a new year of his life, turning 27, while pursuing victory at the Paris Olympics with the star-studded team. The team management figured out the importance of that moment and surprised the Miami Heat star with a birthday cake as soon as they landed in London for their next two exhibition games. With what can be taken from the latest snippet from the NBA’s X page, the Dream Team sang the happy birthday song together to mark the important day in Bam’s life while the latter was blushing and cutting the cake.

Things might seem amicable between Tatum and Bam in the video, but it was not the same during the ankle controversy in April this year.

Inception of Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo ankle controversy

As we delve deep into that scary incident for Tatum, it happened down in the fourth quarter of Game 4 in the first round of playoffs. After the referee blew the whistle, JT went for a practice shot at the rim. However, little did he know that Bam Adebayo would contest it and land on his ankle while coming down. It rolled down so badly for JT that it was “throbbing,” as per his words from the post-match presser. Also, Adebayo did not go unpunished as he received a flagrant one foul.

Although the issue was resolved right away at the court after the referee’s decision as per the Zaza Pachulia rule, it did not go well with the ex-Memphis Grizzlies hooper Chandler Parsons, who went on a rant against the call. “This was so whack to me. …Tatum shouldn’t shoot the ball after, either. If he’s going to shoot it, I’m going to play defense. There’s nothing here. They’re friends. This is silly,” Parsons challenged the relevance of the decision while acknowledging the consequences of Zaza Pachulia’s violation.

In the end, the incident that even the involved players did not want to talk about the NBA community turned into a controversy. Surprisingly, both of those players are going well together on Team USA, swallowing the gold medal contenders coming their way and always looking ahead.