The Miami Heat are known as being one of the best player development organizations in the NBA. While they have certainly had their fair share of high-profile free-agent signings, the franchise has also brought along talent that might otherwise not be fulfilled on other rosters. And this is the case of Bam Adebayo.
While Bam Adebayo was a first-round pick, he was not thrown into the rotation immediately, which is somewhat unusual for a player drafted 14th overall. The team took their time with Adebayo, slowly working him into the mix, and they have been handsomely rewarded. He has become one of the best young centers in the NBA, and the Heat are making perennially playoff runs due to his sizeable contributions.
Where was Bam Adebayo born?
Born Edrice Femi Adebayo, his story starts on July 18, 1997, in Newark, New Jersey, born to parents Marilyn Blount and John Adebayo.
Where did Bam grow up?
According to reports, Bam’s mother was the primary caretaker, with Bam’s father not in the picture a few years after his birth. The future Miami center did not truly embrace his Nigerian heritage, due to the lack of connection with his father, until he was in the middle of high school.
Bam Adebayo – Started from the Bottom
Growing up, Adebayo and his mother lived in a trailer, without much to their name. Blount worked as a cashier, tirelessly doing whatever she could to ensure that young Bam had what he needed to succeed. Adebayo knew that he had to listen to his mother closely, and not go out after dark as she advised him.
When he was seven, Adebayo’s mom moved with her son to North Carolina, which was a very different environment from what they were used to in Newark. Blount still had to work multiple jobs to support her son, but at least it was a lot safer. Bam could also more liberally play basketball, the game he was starting to fall in love with.
While his frame gave him certain inherent advantages, Adebayo’s game needed a lot of fine-tuning. He used to travel with the basketball consistently and missed quite a few dunks during his middle school years. Despite the lack of polish in his game, AAU coach Kevin Graves was certainly intrigued by the potential of the kid from New Jersey.
He took Bam Adebayo under his wing and taught him useful footwork tips that he could deploy to be in the right position. The idea was for the big man to enhance his game slowly, while his more refined AAU teammates like Dennis Smith could handle the bulk of the load. Graves was arguably the most influential person in Adebayo’s early development.
Bam Adebayo – High School
Armed with a more distinguished skill set, Adebayo was ready to set the North Carolina high school basketball scene on fire. He started his career at Northside High School, whose team competed in the Class 1A division.
He would run circles around the competition, setting personal goals for himself that were far beyond what most players in high school ever dream of achieving. His time at Northside was punctuated by his remarkable junior season, where he averaged unheard-of totals like 30 points and 20 rebounds per game.
Bam Adebayo – High Point Christian Academy
While it was no doubt enjoyable for Adebayo to pummel his opponents with Northside considering how limited his skill set was just a few years earlier, it came time for him to challenge himself with more advanced basketball players. To that end, he transferred to High Point Christian Academy ahead of his senior year, with the eyes of the United States recruiting circuit upon him.
His numbers were still extremely impressive at High Point, posting nearly 19 points per game and 13 rebounds per contest. He had the opportunity to play in tournaments all around the country, against future top NBA draft picks like Lonzo Ball and Jayson Tatum.
Bam Adebayo – North Carolina Gatorade Player Of The Year
Adebayo received some of the highest honors a high school player could receive. He was named a McDonald’s All American, North Carolina Gatorade Player Of The Year, and was invited to play in the Jordan Brand Classic Game.
Before he took his game to the collegiate ranks, Adebayo would have the opportunity to learn pointers from another influential coach. Former University of North Carolina star and NBA player Rasheed Wallace worked with Adebayo after his senior year of high school was over.
Wallace focused on demonstrating post moves that the top prospect could use against players who were his own size. These were valuable lessons since Bam would be facing more players in college who could keep up with him athletically.
Bam Adebayo – College Career
Any program that landed Bam Adebayo would’ve been lucky to have him. The Kentucky Wildcats actually did bring him in, as Adebayo committed to a star-studded roster for the 2016-2017 campaign. He teamed with future lottery picks De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk to form one of Kentucky’s most lethal college basketball teams under head coach John Calipari.
Adebayo averaged 13 points and eight rebounds in his one season in Lexington. He had memorable performances against Missouri in the regular season, and some big games to start the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament run. Even though his impact on the box score wasn’t gargantuan, he was a part of Kentucky’s big win against the UCLA Bruins and Lonzo Ball in the Sweet 16. The team would end up falling in the Elite 8 to the University of North Carolina.
After getting so close to the mountain top in his freshman year, Adebayo was tempted to return to Kentucky for another season. However, knowing the type of future that awaited him in the NBA, Calipari emphatically recommended that he turn pro, allegedly ripping up his scholarship to drive home the point.
Bam Adebayo – Miami Heat
While many NBA teams draft players based on need, the Miami Heat approached the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft with a “best player available” mindset. They didn’t really need to acquire a power forward/center type with that level of draft capital, but Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra felt that Bam Adebayo could be a major contributor down the road. The Heat already had Hassan Whiteside at the time, who served as one of the best interior shot-blocking presences in the NBA.
Even though the pecking order was already set, there were signs that showed Miami was serious about giving Adebayo a chance. In his rookie season, he started 19 games and showed flashes of what he could develop into. In his fourth career NBA game, he got the start for an injured Whiteside and played very well in 31 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds that night.
In his second season, Adebayo played in all 82 games for Miami. With an increased opportunity, he was starting to become a noticeable force on the glass, averaging seven rebounds per game in 23 minutes. Even with established veterans still on the roster, it was getting more difficult for the coaching staff to ignore the impact he was having. He actually had the highest win share figure of any player on the team in the 2018-2019 season.
Although the 2019-2020 season was difficult for most people involved with the NBA, it turned into Adebayo’s breakout campaign. Miami traded Whiteside to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019 offseason, giving the former Wildcat the opening he needed to reach his full potential. He did not disappoint, as he averaged a double-double in his third season, and was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career.
Adebayo’s tremendous play continued in the “NBA Bubble” during the postseason. Thanks in large part to his newfound offensive confidence, and continued defensive impact, the Miami Heat reached the NBA Finals. He was involved in one of the most memorable plays in playoff history, rejecting Jayson Tatum’s game-tying foray to the rim in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Another interesting evolution of Adebayo’s game has been his playmaking ability. Without a prototypical ball-dominant point guard in Miami, the big man has served as a facilitator of sorts at the high post. In 2019-2020 and again in 2020-2021, he averaged over five assists per game. The vast majority of NBA teams run their offense through a guard or forward.
Bam Adebayo – Net Worth
With the extension he signed in November 2020, Adebayo moved towards the top of the list in terms of highest-paid centers in the NBA. He is slated to make $30 million, $32 million, $34 million, and $37 million in the next four years of his deal, and has solidified himself as one of the main building blocks of the Miami Heat franchise.
It will be interesting to see how his NBA career unfolds, as he’s played with some well-respected veterans throughout his time with the Heat. If those veterans were to leave, and the construct of Miami’s roster changed, even more responsibility might fall on Adebayo’s shoulders.
Right now, he has the luxury of being one of several important players on a title-contending team. However, it isn’t farfetched to think Adebayo could be the best player on a championship team if he were asked to be in that role and decided to be more aggressive.
Why Adebayo is called BAM?
His nickname Bam, which would of course become the name he is primarily known by, came about when he was one year old. He was larger than the typical toddler that age, and infamously knocked over a table, which would give him a moniker that would stick with him for life.
Is Bam Adebayo a good defender?
Bam Adebayo is one of the best defenders in the league. He anchors a Miami Heat defense that is fourth in the NBA in defensive rating. However, he was not even named as a finalist for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. This disrespects him and his efforts on the court.
