Houston Rockets center Josh Smith (5) is interviewed by the media after rejoining the Rockets via a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Houston Rockets center Josh Smith (5) is interviewed by the media after rejoining the Rockets via a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Atlanta Hawks had a successful stretch during the time of Joe Johnson. He teamed up with Josh Smith, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford, and Marvin Williams to make the Hawks a yearly contender in the Eastern Conference.
Now that they are retired, except for Horford, they have made the popular transition to media, with Johnson and Teague thriving in podcasting and Crawford being a part of NBC Sports.
Johnson is a co-host of “Nightcap,” and he had Smith guest on the latest episode. They got into talking about Bam Adebayo's all-time list of Stephen Curry, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Tim Duncan. Quite noticeably, Adebayo left off LeBron James.
Smith offered a theory for it.
“He's probably mad Bron didn’t come down there to South Beach and mess with him. He's salty, man. Might be a little salty, man,” said the former high-flying forward.
“Salt kills snails, not players.”
Josh Smith says Bam Adebayo is SALTY that LeBron didn’t come to Miami and that’s why he left him off his top 5 players list:
“He prolly mad Bron didn’t come down there to South Beach and mess with him. He salty man. Might be a little salty man. Salt kills snails, not players.”… https://t.co/1j3fYbTOsx pic.twitter.com/P4BMzkd4eF
Fans had the same observation as Smith.
“It's obvious he feels salty Bron didn't choose Miami to play with him. MF said Kevin Durant. KD a monster but not top five all-time,” said @hi_mjim.
“He hating 'cause Lebron didn't come back to the Heat,” echoed @Tupacaveli68.
“GOAT James doesn't join your city, and suddenly the players, fans, and organization hate him? They’re basically saying the quiet part out loud, if that makes sense. LOL,” added @inotuonye7.
“This list says so much more about Bam than it does about the actual top five,” claimed @reydelrock.
“He just mad LEBRON AIN'T GO TO MIAMI. HE SAID KD OVER BRON, GET REAL,” commented @ItsLittbro.
Adebayo and James have developed a friendship over the years, especially during their stint on Team USA during the 2024 Paris Olympics. James even congratulated Adebayo when he scored 83 points in March.
It is worth noting that Johnson and Smith usually ran into James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs, so they know exactly how great the four-time MVP was.