Dwyane Wade recently shared a funny but telling story about Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo and his girlfriend, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson. Speaking on his podcast, Wade revealed what Bam told him during a conversation at the Paris Olympics this summer while they were both courtside watching the women’s tournament.
According to Wade, Adebayo couldn’t help but laugh about the imbalance between his own trophy case and Wilson’s.
“I’m at the Olympics and we were in Paris and we both was there to watch our women’s play. And we were sitting on the opposite side, I had some pizza, had a box of pizza on me, you know what I mean, eating, chilling.”
“And we were just talking about A’ja as a hooper. And, you know, we talked about future plans, hopefully one day, you know.”
“And Bam cracked me up when he was just like, man, my little award case… He was like, bro, I ain’t got a chance. She’s so cold. He was like, her awards is just, honestly, like a high school award, you know, like one of the top high division schools that winning everything.”
She wins, bro. She’s a winner. And you can’t say, you cannot, whenever you see her win something, you have, yes. You’re never like, really? You’re never that way when it comes to her. ‘Cause she is a dog. She gives everything.”
That’s no exaggeration. Bam is an elite NBA player in his own right, a three-time All-Star, five-time All-Defensive Team selection, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He has carved out a reputation as one of the league’s best defenders and leaders in Miami, helping anchor the Heat through multiple deep playoff runs. But when stacked against Wilson’s resume, his own accolades look modest.
Wilson’s trophy case is overflowing with hardware. She’s already a two-time WNBA champion and Finals MVP, four-time league MVP, three-time Defensive Player of the Year, seven-time All-Star, and five-time All-WNBA selection. She has won scoring titles, led the league in blocks five times, and twice taken home the WNBA Player ESPY Award.
On top of that, she’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time FIBA World Cup champion, and a decorated college legend at South Carolina, where she won an NCAA championship, the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player award, and nearly every individual honor available, including the Wooden Award, Naismith Player of the Year, and SEC Player of the Year three times.
For Bam, the humor is in the honesty. His career achievements are impressive, but A’ja has set a standard of dominance that few athletes, male or female, can match. It’s rare to find a relationship where one partner has a stacked résumé and the other isn’t even in the conversation, but in this case, Wilson’s list of accolades might outshine just about anyone’s.
Still, Bam has leaned into the dynamic with pride rather than insecurity. When Wilson won her fourth MVP this month, Adebayo surprised her by bringing out the trophy, a moment that went viral and highlighted just how supportive he is of her success.
It’s a refreshing look at two stars who excel in their own right, with Adebayo showing humility and humor about their different paths. At the end of the day, as Wade pointed out, Wilson’s relentless drive to win is undeniable. And while Bam may feel outmatched when it comes to trophies, the couple’s partnership shows that they’re both champions in more ways than one.
