On Sunday, Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat faced Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Memphis Grizzlies. Adebayo finished with 26 points, three blocks, and six rebounds and the Heat won 132-124.
After the game, Heat writer Brady Hawk asked Bam if the guys who get the steals and blocks get the most credit defensively. Although Bam agreed, he claimed a lot of these people aren't taking the whole game into perspective.
To Bam's point, while the box score gives a fair idea of what happened, it's not a complete picture of a game. Bam averages 1.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in his career. However, steals and blocks don't tell the whole story of a player's defensive impact. Where's the category for charges drawn?
Last April, Spoelstra acknowledged Adebayo's defense going under the media's radar. "He's arguably been the best defender in the league now for a handful of years. He doesn't necessarily get acknowledged for that because he's not putting up the big shot blocking numbers or whatever metrics they look at."
Bam's "stat-watching" comments follow the 2023-24 NBA GM Survey, where Adebayo failed to receive a single vote for best interior defender. Again, the Miami Heat coach came to his players' defense. "That one is just unbelievable to me. I think Bam is the best defensive player in the league and I just can't understand why he's not recognized for how impactful he is on that end of the court." Spoelstra said.
Despite being a two-time All-Star, Adebayo has never made the NBA All-Defensive First Team, only the Second Team. This past season, Bam finished fifth in defensive player of the year voting. In the last four years, Miami has reached two NBA Finals and three Eastern Conference Finals. Whether the media acknowledges it or not, Bam Adebayo's defensive impact has been key to the Miami Heat's success in recent years.
