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Reading: Erik Spoelstra Says Bam Adebayo Has Been The Best Defender In The League For The Last Few Years
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Home > NBA News & Analysis > Erik Spoelstra Says Bam Adebayo Has Been The Best Defender In The League For The Last Few Years

Erik Spoelstra Says Bam Adebayo Has Been The Best Defender In The League For The Last Few Years

Erik Spoelstra thinks Bam Adebayo has been the best defender in the NBA.

The Vy Lee Tran
Jun 15, 2023
3 Min Read
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Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Big man Bam Adebayo is one of the best defensive players in the league, and he was a key reason for the Miami Heat getting to the Finals. He is one of the few players in the league that can truly guard five positions, and he definitely does a better job than most when it comes to limiting superstar players.

Erik Spoelstra has recently offered huge praise to Bam Adebayo, claiming that he’s been the best defender in the league. The coach also noted that he doesn’t get respect from people on that end because his defense is not about box scores or advanced stats.

“He’s arguably been the best defender in the league now for a handful of years,” Spoelstra said. “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.”

“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.”

– Erik Spoelstra on Bam Adebayo

(Via @5ReasonsSports’… pic.twitter.com/Y7uPnQAyf1

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 15, 2023

It is fair to say that Bam Adebayo’s defensive contributions don’t always show up on the stat sheet. However, his impact is clear when watching, and he can seamlessly switch from guarding smaller point guards to legitimate big men.

This season, Bam Adebayo averaged 20.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG for the Miami Heat. His defense is definitely among the best in the league, and if his offense improves, he’ll be a legitimate All-NBA player.


Bam Adebayo’s Skills Fit The Heat’s “Nasty” Brand Of Basketball

The Miami Heat have a very physical and gritty brand of basketball, and those qualities clearly helped them get to the Finals. In fact, Bam Adebayo previously explained that the team’s way of basketball is “rugged” and “nasty”.

“Everybody thinks basketball is always supposed to be pretty, it’s supposed to be fluid, it’s supposed to be this or that,” he said. “It’s supposed to look like certain way because that’s how other people do it. That’s not how we do it. It’s rugged, it’s in the mud, it’s nasty basketball. And, we don’t care. The way we play, how we go about it. You can’t change everybody’s way of basketball. It’s our way and we don’t care what you think about it, we don’t care how it looks, it gets wins.”

There’s no question that Bam Adebayo’s skill set and mentality is a great fit for the Miami Heat. There is no doubt that he has the potential to become a Heat legend, and we’ll see what happens in the future.

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TAGGED:Bam AdebayoMiami Heat Archive
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ByThe Vy Lee Tran
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The Vy Lee Tran is a Senior Writer for Fadeaway World, specializing in trade scenarios, blockbuster trades, and the NBA salary cap. He graduated from Earlham College with honors and a B. A. in English.He is an avid fan of the NBA as a whole and thinks Stephen Curry is quite easily a top-10 player of all time. In his free time, you can find Lee playing basketball and working on his 3PT jumper. Expertise: NBA, Trade Scenarios, CBA, Salary Cap, Player BreakdownsFavorite Team: New Orleans Pelicans Featured On Sports Illustrated, HoopsHype, Heavy
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