There is no other center like Bam Adebayo.
The five-time All-Defense selection is the only player in the NBA to earn the honor in each season since 2019-20. Adebayo’s defensive versatility keeps opposing coaches on their toes because of his mobility, quick hands, strength and basketball IQ. Those traits are among the reasons Miami’s defense annually ranks among the league’s best and has come along in recent weeks (11th overall, fourth since Nov. 18, per NBA.com).
When stats don’t illustrate Adebayo’s value, it’s made more apparent by teammates trusting him to help with mistakes, how he communicates and his focus on affecting every possession of a game. In a league routinely focused on high point totals and audacious shot attempts, Miami’s captain is among this generation’s craftspeople who routinely find ways to make playing defense an art. While Adebayo’s presence has become the ultimate safety net for his teammates, opposing teams and coaches don’t have as much fun with the ways he can make an impact.
“Like a number of players we’ve played recently, you have to have awareness on where he is on the basketball court,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before Wednesday’s 134-93 Heat win over Los Angeles, which shot just 4-of-11 when guarded by Adebayo.
“Lu Dort, Jalen Suggs, Jaren Jackson Jr. Like, we’ve played all these guys, and Bam is a Tier One, All-Defensive defender. You need to know what he’s doing, what his coverages are, how he’s helping, where he’s helping from … Is he lifted? Is he low? All of those things. And you have to be mindful of your play calls and structure around that.”
While Adebayo rightly maintains his reputation as a defensive maestro, his impact on offense is what makes him one of the league’s most interesting two-way players. So far this season, his efficiency hasn’t reflected what everyone is normally accustomed to, but the two-time gold medalist remains adept at using his hoops savvy when his own offense isn’t its best.
“He plays to win, so he does a lot of different things,” New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Adebayo in October. “He can bring the ball up. He’s got good touch. He plays great out the pocket … He can go back to the basket, face you up. He’s gonna hit the open man. He plays with great effort. Each year, he’s gotten better and better. His defense speaks for itself — his ability to guard multiple positions. He’s a big-time, multiple-effort player that has now added experience to all his skill, and I think that goes a long way.”
Through 20 games Adebayo is shooting a career-low 42.9 percent overall, but he’s also adjusting to playing farther from the basket as the Heat prioritize optimal floor-spacing for cleaner drives and cuts to the basket. Entering Friday, he’s averaging 10.5 feet on his shot attempts this season, a far cry from his usual mark over his first seven NBA seasons (6.5). And, when Adebayo has tried to find easier looks closer to the basket, he’s uncharacteristically struggled with finishing in the paint.
Bam Adebayo FG Pct By Shot
| This Season | Prev. Five Seasons | |
|---|---|---|
|
Overall |
42.9 |
54.7 |
|
Restricted area |
59.5 |
70.9 |
|
Layups |
32.5 |
54.1 |
|
Jump shot |
34.8 |
43.4 |
Against the Lakers, Adebayo shot at least 50 percent for only the second time in his last eight games, but the success he found with his shooting touch didn’t surprise him as Miami enjoyed its highest-scoring performance of the season. Already never one to hang his head, he has maintained confidence in finding his rhythm while upholding his other duties.
“Nah, the basketball just went in,” Adebayo said. “I don’t really overthink it. You go out there, and I’ll play as hard as possible. And, if shots don’t fall, I’m still gonna impact winning.”
To the point of the three-time All-Star, during Miami’s win over Philadelphia on Nov. 18, he scored a season-low five points but still grabbed 13 rebounds, plucked two steals and held Joel Embiid to 2-of-6 shooting. Sure, consistently pouring in points is ideal, but aptly negating them on the other end can help almost any team enduring a shooting slump … especially if the slumping shooter is a uniquely selfless passer.
Whether Adebayo becomes the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki won’t change the fact Miami’s offense thrives when he’s setting up teammates. Whether pushing tempo after grabbing a rebound or simply reading defenses in halfcourt sets, his teammates react well to his court vision by finding chances to wiggle for free clean looks.
Here, against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 27, Adebayo used a skip pass off a rebound to help Duncan Robinson set up for an open transition 3 as defenders struggled to react in time. The pass itself feels like seeing a pebble get tossed across a pond … if ponds were made of wood, of course.
A few nights later, in a visit to the Toronto Raptors, Adebayo used an in-and-out dribble to draw in defenders before kicking out to an open Tyler Herro for an open 3. On the season, according to NBA.com, Robinson and Herro are shooting a combined 47.4 percent from deep off Adebayo’s passes.
“He’s a handful to deal with when he’s getting downhill in transition,” Herro said. “And then, when he collapses the defense, he’s able to make plays. So just clearing his head, I think, and just getting the noise out of his head and stop reading whatever the hell he’s been reading and just be Bam. He’s literally a top-three center in the NBA for a reason, and he has to continue to just be that, be himself and stop reading stuff.”
Earlier this week, in a road visit against the Boston Celtics, Adebayo ran some halfcourt two-man action with reserve guard Dru Smith. The latter took the dribble handoff as Jayson Tatum over-pursued on an assumed screen, leaving an open driving lane as Adebayo rolled to the rim with Boston’s Neemias Queta on his heels.
In Miami’s last five games, Adebayo (39) has almost twice as many assists as any other Heat player. He trails only Alperen Şengün (16.7), Nikola Jokić (15) and Victor Wembanyama (10.7) for the most potential assists per game by any center since Nov. 27. Adebayo’s shot falling more consistently will help raise Miami’s floor, but his consistency in so many other areas is why the Heat are confident in maximizing the next possession, no matter what may have gone wrong in prior opportunities.
At 10-10, the Heat are coming off their biggest win of the season, but that was after tying their largest loss thus far (Boston) … and that was after a close loss to a squad whose ambitions align closer to the draft lottery than the Play-In Tournament (Toronto). How high Miami peaks in the East standings remains to be seen, but it has the NBA’s eighth-best net rating (plus-6.8) since Adebayo’s season-low performance against the Sixers (granted, it’s slightly inflated by Wednesday’s blowout win, but you can’t fight facts).
Sooner than later, Adebayo’s scoring touch should better reflect what teammates and fans are more often accustomed to, but he maintains his team’s trust until such a turnaround. He’s the captain, right? The alternative can only be to press ahead.
“I just love Bam’s purity,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday. “I love the fact, when you’re going through something like he’s going through, what he dives into isn’t what 90 percent of the league would dive into. Ninety percent of the league would dive into ‘I gotta get my stats … I’ve gotta get myself going … It’s about me.’ Bam dives into the team.
“He’s done that. Four out of five games, he’s basically had triple-doubles. But impacting winning, even in the losses, that’s what you got to love about him. And his skill set is just all across the board, both ends of the court.”
(Top photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images )
