The Miami Heat’s last postseason run came to a halt when Bam Adebayo went down with an injury. The three-time All-Star did not return, and calls of dirty play were hurled at then-Hornets star LaMelo Ball. But Gilbert Arenas claimed that it was President of the Miami Heat Pat Riley’s decision not to risk their 29-year-old star.

Speaking on The Lavar Ball Show, Arenas defended LaMelo Ball while simultaneously questioning the way the Miami Heat handled Bam Adebayo’s injury during their April 2026 play-in matchup. According to Arenas, Adebayo’s exit from the game had less to do with injury and more to do with the organization’s desire to secure a better position in the NBA Draft Lottery.

“I didn’t like what they did about the BAM thing,” Arenas stated to LaVar Ball. “I said, ‘Hey, can y’all apologize to the boy (LaMelo) now? You really thought Bam butt was hurting for him to sit out of the game? They lost that game so they can get a lottery pick. Come on. Let’s say it how it really is. They needed a lottery pick over there. He was never coming back in the game.

“You think his wife (A’ja Wilson, not married but in a long-time relationship), four-time MVP, would be like, ‘What? Your butt hurt? Really? Is that what we doing in this family?’ No. Pat Riley walked his a– in there. ‘Hey, you better sit your a-s down. We lose this game, we got a lottery pick.’ Y’all over here bashing LaMelo like this; all they wanted was the lottery pick, that’s why he ain’t come back in the game. Don’t pull that narrative, and that’s what I didn’t like. I know the business.”

Gilbert Arenas defended LaMelo Ball, claiming the leg-grab play on Bam Adebayo was not intentional harm. Arenas suggested that the Heat star exaggerated his back injury by sitting out the rest of the game, and thus Miami lost 127-126 in OT.

In the months that followed, many fans criticized Ball. They believed his foul directly changed the game. But Arenas disagrees with that assessment, arguing that Ball never intended to injure Bam Adebayo. He claimed that the Heat’s sole aim was to improve their NBA draft lottery position. But neither the Miami Heat nor team president Pat Riley has indicated that the organization intentionally lost the game,

In fact, the NBA said Ball made “unnecessary and reckless contact” and levied a $60,000 fine for the foul and for using profanity in an interview. But Arenas was defending LaMelo Ball and his actions.

Because the lottery outcome ultimately landed the franchise the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Rather than using the selection, the Heat packaged the pick in a blockbuster trade with the Milwaukee Bucks that brought Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to South Beach. The deal also included Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware, Kasparas Jakucionis, and future draft assets heading to Milwaukee.