In the event of a match between the Americans and the French at the Olympic Games, the three best defenders in the NBA would face off. Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama on one side, Bam Adebayo the other.
The latter, a finalist for the trophy for best defender of the year behind the two Frenchmen, still seems to have difficulty digesting it. I have to do all that (on defense) and get 20 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. “, Team USA pivot dropsrounding off its averages over the season.
“ It's not my fault that I'm versatile, that's the thing that pisses me off. I've been in the top five in DPOY voting for the last five years, and there's always guys you (the media) gave this title rather than to me “, he gets annoyed. And he recalls that a ” game leader » (Marcus Smart), a « pivot » (Rudy Gobert) and a “power forward” » (Jaren Jackson Jr.) have outvoted him in the past.
What about the players around?
” It's me and a lot of undrafted guys and we still have a top-five defense. “, continues the pivot, in reference to his situation in Miami (5th defense in the league last year). While according to him, his competitors ” have All-NBA players (around them) “. ” They don't really care about us and that's fine. I think they should pay attention to consistency because as a Top 5 DPOY, I think I have the longest streak in the top five defensive teams. “, continues the five-time winner in this field.
Behind this individual recognition lies a financial issue. Yahoo! Sports thus recalls that if the Heat center had won it in recent years, he would have been eligible for a longer extension than the three-year, $166 million deal he recently agreed to. A four-year deal would have earned him more than $100 million more.
” Are we still talking about this? That's good “, says Erik Spoelstra, assistant at Team USA, who would clearly prefer to turn the page. Bam Adebayo's coach in Miami believes that ” There are a lot of factors that go into it. It's having a great defense, anchoring it, making the players around you better at defense, and having extraordinary defensive talent. He meets all of those requirements. »
| Bam Adebayo | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | MIA | 69 | 20 | 51.2 | 0.0 | 72.1 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 6.9 |
| 2018-19 | MIA | 82 | 23 | 57.6 | 20.0 | 73.5 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 8.9 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 72 | 34 | 55.7 | 14.3 | 69.1 | 2.4 | 7.8 | 10.2 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 15.9 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 64 | 34 | 57.0 | 25.0 | 79.9 | 2.2 | 6.7 | 9.0 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 18.7 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 56 | 33 | 55.7 | 0.0 | 75.3 | 2.5 | 7.6 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 19.1 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 75 | 35 | 54.0 | 8.3 | 80.6 | 2.5 | 6.7 | 9.2 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 20.4 |
| 2023-24 | MIA | 71 | 34 | 52.1 | 35.7 | 75.5 | 2.2 | 8.1 | 10.4 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 19.3 |
| Total | 489 | 30 | 54.7 | 22.1 | 75.5 | 2.2 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 15.4 | |
How to read the stats? GM = Games Played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots Made / Shots Attempted; 3pts = 3-pointers / 3-pointers Attempted; LF = Free Throws Made / Free Throws Attempted; Off = Offensive Rebound; Def = Defensive Rebound; Tot = Total Rebounds; Pd = Assists; Fte: Personal Fouls; Int = Steals; Bp = Loose Balls; Ct: Blocks; Pts = Points.
