Bam Adebayo has never felt he gets the respect he deserves for his excellence on defense and thinks the awards now come down to just who gets more blocks and steals.
“Yeah, obviously because we have a lot of people who are stat watchers,” Adebayo said. “… Straight to the column, and be like ‘Oh well he had this much,’ not knowing he gave up 40 in the paint depending on who it is. So yeah, I feel like if they watched the game, it’d be a different perspective.”
Just talked to Bam Adebayo about his take on defensive accolades being a steals and blocks award:
“Yeah, obviously we have a lot of people who are stat watchers.”
“Straight to the column, and be like ‘oh well he had this much,” not knowing he gave up 40 in the paint…” pic.twitter.com/VhEqUEjUq8
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) October 16, 2023
The box score does give you a fair idea of what happened in the game, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Bam has career averages of just 1.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game, but he has been the anchor on the defensive end for the Miami Heat.
Largely thanks to him, they have finished in the top 10 for defensive rating in each of the last three seasons. Despite that, he hasn’t really gotten much recognition and his head coach also believes it is because voters look only at the raw stats.
Erik Spoelstra said Adebayo has been the best defender in the league for the last few years but doesn’t get that acknowledgment, as he isn’t putting up big shot-blocking numbers.
Erik Spoelstra Went Off At NBA GMs For Not Recognizing Adebayo’s Defense
The latest slight at Adebayo came in the 2023-24 NBA GM Survey. The 26-year-old didn’t receive a single vote for the best interior defender, and the only recognition he got was 13% votes for the most versatile defender. Spoelstra was furious and blasted NBA GMs for not recognizing Adebayo’s 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. So, he’s just going to have to prove it again and just do it this year until everybody notices.”
“I think he just has to be who he is, do what he does, and just be that dynamic force on that end of the court. Then I think he’s going to get recognized for that and hopefully, we’ll have a great defense this year and he leads us on that end of the court.”
Maybe if Adebayo can help the Heat be the best defensive team in the league, he might get some recognition. The two-time All-Star has never even made the NBA All-Defensive First Team so far, which is rather surprising.
Bam Adebayo Says He Should Have Won Multiple Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
One of the big reasons why Adebayo has never made the First Team is Rudy Gobert, who made it six years in a row from 2017 to 2022. The Frenchman also won Defensive Player of the Year thrice in that time, but Adebayo believes he should have won DPOY over Gobert.
His reasoning was that Gobert struggled defensively in the playoffs and he added that he should have won the award over Marcus Smart in 2022 as well. Adebayo stated that he can guard all five positions, something that Smart can’t, which gives him the edge.
This past season, he finished a distant fifth with just one first-place vote, as Jaren Jackson Jr., who led the league with 3.0 blocks per game, took home the award.
Adebayo, meanwhile, had averaged 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. It seems pretty clear to me, that if Adebayo wants to win it, he will have to put up some big shot-blocking numbers, whether that’s fair or not.
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