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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo was a little busy Tuesday night, but still spread some early Valentine’s Day love at his former school.

Bam Adebayo Foundation director Marquita McCulley presented a $100 Visa gift card and a signed T-shirt from Adebayo to each Northside junior varsity boys, varsity girls and varsity boys player’s family and the coaching staffs during halftime of the games against Lejeune.

“Bam’s mom raised him by herself and he just wanted to give every player’s mom an early Valentine’s Day gift,” McCulley said. “It was a way for him to show his dedication to his hometown school and the community. He does other initiatives through the foundation during the year and this was a great way to kick off 2023. The reaction from everyone at Northside was amazing.”

Adebayo played at Northside from 2014-16 and was the 14^th player taken in the 2017 NBA draft after a year at the University of Kentucky. He was recently selected to his second NBA All-Star team.

His gift might have been the lift the Panthers needed as the varsity boys claimed their first Coastal Plains Conference win, 69-66, over the Devil Pups, while the girls prevailed, 60-18.

The event was the first in a series called the Bam 13 Taekover. MuCulley said the foundation plans to expand the initative to 13 cities in North Carolina and eventually to 13 different states.