Bam Adebayo: “All of this has brought us closer like brothers”

As is tradition, Bam Adebayo complied with the exercise of the press conference recording the end of the season. The opportunity for him to take stock of this 2022-2023 exercise which will still go down in history for the Heat, who arrived in the Finals after going through the play-in and having won three series in a row without the advantage of the field, and not the least, against Milwaukee, New York and Boston.

Even if the end will not have been happy, the Florida pivot will keep a positive note when he remembers this adventure. There was not the champion ring at the end but a group united forever by this adventure.

“The goal is to win a title, and this franchise is doing everything possible to make that happen. I feel like everyone here knows the NBA is a business. And that’s why we cherish these moments that we go through, in the company of the people we work with, between teammates, between brothers. Because you never know what can happen next year, at the next trade deadline”, he explained. “As far as I’m concerned, I will remember the good times, the bad times, the adversity, the adventure as a whole. Ultimately, this is what creates this brotherhood. We’ve been through so much together this year, it’s brought us closer, like brothers.”

The next step: learn from Udonis Haslem to become a locker room leader

Bam Adebayo also spoke on the subject of the “Underdogs” tandem that he forms with Jimmy Butler, not necessarily the most popular duo in the league but the one who played the hardest in this 2023 campaign, and whose the efforts were rewarded until the NBA Finals.

“We are not into statistics, ratings, that sort of thing. I have the impression that when you enter the discussion with Jimmy, it’s just out of the spirit of competition and the will. It’s the easiest way to play basketball, competitive spirit and determination.”he added. “During these playoffs, during these adventures over the past four years, we made our place on many occasions, by thwarting a lot of things. A lot of people doubted us, we supposedly had a 3% chance of winning the title, we had incredible predictions about how our season was going to go. And somehow, we made our way through. That’s why it’s special. We have two guys who are not the most gifted, the most talented, but we have this determination and a competitive nature.

Over the campaigns, Bam Adebayo has gained confidence, on the offensive level, but he does not consider himself arrived in his quest for progress. His next project? Become the locker room leader embodied so far by Udonis Haslem.

“I feel like I still have a little more to learn, to continue to evolve, to develop, in all aspects of my game. I would also like to progress as a leader. Udo is going to leave and someone really needs to step up in this role, and be the person who speaks in front of others, shares his experiences, his opinion. Someone who can tell the guys how it should be, and really be that leader”he continued, before listing his progress defensively. “I feel like I’m smarter, like a technician really focused on the details. Defense is really a question of effort and knowing the tendencies of the player opposite (…), knowing the systems, knowing where the player is going to go, what will happen after a time-out, being as the quarterback and making sure everyone is in their place, communicating… There are a lot of things going on defensively that we don’t really talk about. I really feel like I’ve become a better defender, just knowing the angles of attack better, the tendencies of each other, it has helped me on this path.

How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.