Bam Adebayo is transforming into a superstar for the Miami Heat
The Miami Heat may be staring a 6-10 start to the season square in the eyes (with a game against the Brooklyn Nets on tap Monday night), but there is one development that can’t be overlooked or brushed away in that locker room.
And it’s that Bam Adebayo is slowly – and somewhat quietly – making the jump to superstardom right before our eyes.
For the most part, many casual NBA fans first became “introduced” to Bam during the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals in the league’s restart bubble. He was arguably the best player for the team during their surprising run and almost singlehandedly was the difference-maker in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.
A big block on Jayson Tatum in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals is what Bam will most be remembered by during that playoff run, but there were many other instances in which he stood out as a future star if he wasn’t there already.
In fact, you can make the case (and many Heat fans would tend to agree with you) that the NBA Finals would have looked a lot different had Bam (and Goran Dragic) been healthy. Nevertheless, that’s a different conversation for a different day.
After a breakout run in the playoffs last season, Bam has picked up where he left off – and then some.
Through 13 games played, Bam is averaging 20 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on 62 percent shooting from the field. He’s on pace for another career-year and has shown growth with an added mid-range jumper.
Over his last five games specifically, games in which the team has missed numerous key starters including Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro, Bam has taken his aggressiveness and assertiveness up a notch. In those games, Bam is averaging 25 points per game including a 41-point outburst against Brooklyn over the weekend.
After that game against the Nets, he had an interesting comment regarding his play.
Bam Adebayo says, "From now on I need to be ultra aggressive from the start."
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) January 24, 2021
A comment that may seem innocent on the surface, but also a comment that could represent a player that is growing in confidence. I’d lean toward the latter than the former. If there has been one knock on Bam over the last couple of seasons in the league, it’s been his lack of aggressiveness.
While we’ve continued to see that at times this season, perhaps Bam is beginning to realize what many of his fans already know – that’s he’s a budding superstar. There aren’t many active players in the league that can have the impact that Bam can have on both ends of the floor. There aren’t many players that can do what he can on the offensive end as a 6-foot-9 pseudo center.
What we saw in the playoffs last season and what we’ve begun to see to start the season this year is the birth and early stages of superstardom.
Say it out loud with me – Bam is a superstar.
Now say it with confidence – BAM IS A SUPERSTAR!
Yes, whether he realizes yet or not is irrelevant. Bam Adebayo is a superstar and might be the whale that Pat Riley and the Miami Heat organization have been looking for all along.