The 2024-25 NBA regular season is in the books, and Bam Adebayo is once again not the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. While Adebayo isn’t making a fuss over not even being in the conversation this year, he told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson that politics have played a role in his never winning DPOY.
“Politics, you know? You can’t really help it,” Adebayo said. “Some dudes have power over the media, and some dudes don’t. But in my case, we can’t really voice for it if we’re in the 10th spot. Now, if we’re in the 3rd spot or 4th spot? You could say something.”
“I’ve tried to — I ain’t gonna say beg — but try to showcase and try to put yourself out there, and to me, it’s just too much,” Adebayo added. “If I have to go through media outlets and do all this to get somebody to give me Defensive Player of the Year, I’m cool.”
When asked if he should win DPOY this year, Adebayo admitted it was hard for him to say that with the Miami Heat being 10th in the East with a 37-45 record. That poor team record is a big reason why he is not even in consideration in 2025 after finishing in the top five in voting in each of the five years prior to this.
Adebayo, who averaged 18.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in 2024-25, thinks players who have power over the media and campaigned relentlessly for the award have beaten him out in the past, but is that true? Rudy Gobert (twice), Jaren Jackson Jr., Marcus Smart, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have won DPOY in the last five years.
You wouldn’t say any of them, not even Antetokounmpo, have power over the media. They weren’t exactly publicly campaigning for the award with a media tour either, the way Draymond Green has been this year. So, that assessment might be a bit off the mark.
This is hardly the first time that Adebayo has complained about not winning the award, and, by the looks of it, it won’t be the last. Back in 2024, Adebayo stated he gets overlooked for DPOY despite anchoring a defense with undrafted teammates.
“A point guard (Marcus Smart) got it over me, a center (Rudy Gobert) got it over me, a power forward (Jaren Jackson Jr.) has gotten it over me. The goalposts move for me, to certain degrees. It’s me and a lot of undrafted dudes, and we still have a top-five defense. These other guys have All-NBA dudes (around them).”
Adebayo had claimed he deserved to win DPOY over Gobert and Smart prior to this as well. The 27-year-old had stated that Gobert gets exposed in the playoffs while Smart can’t guard all five positions like him. Unfortunately for him, the voters didn’t agree with that assessment.
Unless the Heat add some stars next to him in the coming years, Adebayo is unlikely ever to come close to winning DPOY in his career. The three-time All-Star needs to put this behind him and focus on delivering on the court. We’ll see Adebayo in action next when the Heat take on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET in a knockout game in the Play-In Tournament.
