The adorable reason Bam Adebayo's nickname stuck originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Bam Adebayo just moved himself firmly into the public sports consciousness on Tuesday night with one of the greatest scoring games in NBA history.
The Miami Heat frontcourt star will have that name of his written in league lore forever. And it's quite the name, when you think about it (and yes, it's a nickname).
Bam is a perfect name for a muscle-bound star in the NBA.
The origin story is even better.
What is Bam Adebayo's real name?
Bam Adebayo's legal name is Edrice Femi Adebayo.
He hasn't gone by Edrice much in his life at all, though, earning Bam when he was still just a tiny human.
Why is Bam Adebayo called Bam?
This is a great origin story.
When little Edrice was just a year old, his mother started calling him Bam Bam.
He had been watching The Flintstones, and when Bamm-Bamm Rubble flipped over a table, little Adebayo did the same to the coffee table in their house.
Thus, Bamm Bamm.
Over time, it has been shortened to Bam.
And now, that name -- nickname, really -- will go down in NBA history.
MORE: Speaking of nicknames: Arizona State has a star named Pig Johnson