The Silent Greatness Of Bam Adebayo
Bam Adebayo’s reaction to scoring a basket Photo: Getty Images
Bam Adebayo has quietly been showcasing a strong start to his 2023–2024 NBA campaign with the Miami Heat. Although the newly named captain has continued to improve his game year by year, very few people have taken notice, and it might be time we start to turn an eye to what has been transpiring for the 4x All-Defensive Center.
This past week, Bam was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player Of The Week. He averaged 23.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while leading Miami to a remarkable 3–1 record. During a trying time of injuries in Miami, Bam has been one of the very few consistencies for the Miami Heat this season. With Tyler Herro missing 19 games and Jimmy Butler missing 15 of his own, the Miami Heat sit at 5th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 24–16. This puts them 2.5 games behind the 3rd best record in the East. For a team like Miami that ranks among the league leaders in injuries, many would say the Miami Heat have no business winning at such a high level. There’s no single reason for Miami’s success; it’s mostly a combination of factors such as role players, depth, and coaching. Although this may be the case, without Bam, Miami might not be in the spot where it currently sits.
For the season, Bam Adebayo has averaged 21.7 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. He continues to improve in every aspect of the game. For his career, he has increased his PPG average every single season. Coming in from Kentucky, Bam was seen as a raw lob threat. He averaged just 6.9 points and 5 rebounds in his rookie season. His yearly improvements are a testament to how much work he puts in, and this comes without mentioning his true claim to fame: Defense.
Bam Adebayo is among the best defenders in the NBA. Having been awarded 4x All-NBA Defensive Team honors, he has been the anchor of Miami’s well-renowned defense. While not being your prototypical shot-blocker, Bam has made his name by mastering all aspects of defense. Over a year ago, Miami Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra made some comments regarding Bam’s versatile defensive play.
“He’s an absolute Swiss Army knife defensively,” Spoelstra said. “We can literally do whatever scheme, pick-and-roll-wise, or man-to-man, zone, or switch. Everything. If you’re in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year, you should be able to do all of those things. I don’t think all the guys in the conversation can do all of those things. This team is a little bit different, so we have to do some different things, but you have to have a guy like Bam that can be an anchor and have that absolute versatility — where we can adjust and tweak things as the season goes on based on what we need to do and what’s working for us. Not necessarily what we planned on doing.”
Over time, Bam has created quite a track record for himself. He has been tasked to defend some of the most elite big men in our game during the most high-pressure games of the playoffs and thrived. He’s defeated reigning MVP Joel Embiid and defeated 2-time MVP Giannis twice during the playoffs, while being the primary defender for both. He was also tasked with guarding 2-time MVP Nikola Jokic in the NBA Finals. One of the primary factors in Miami’s unexpected playoff success has been his stellar defense when the lights shine the brightest. For all that Bam Adebayo has accounted for, the talk seems to be small with the young star. However, it’s only a matter of time before the league fully acknowledges the silent greatness brewing in South Beach.
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