Q&A: Bam Adebayo treasures role as quarterback of Heat’s team defense Miami has grown to rely on the Heat star’s vocal leadership on defense and his ‘workhorse’ mentality. Steve Aschburner Steve Aschburner Archive Updated on December 28, 2023 12:44 PM
Bam Adebayo has been named to NBA All-Defense teams four times in his career.
If there’s such a thing as the Kia Defensive Player of the Year-in-waiting, Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo would be that guy.
He is the defensive signal caller on one of the league’s grittiest teams, riding that style to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023. Four times Adebayo, 26, has been named to NBA All-Defense teams, and the 6-foot-9 forward/center has finished in the Top 5 in DPOY balloting in each of the past four seasons.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has sanctioned the award as one worth chasing because of the good things that happen for the winner’s team. So Adebayo has been honest in his pursuit of it.
In the first in a series of interviews with candidates for this season’s DPOY, Adebayo spoke with NBA.com Wednesday about his role as Miami’s defensive leader and what’s required to thrive on that side of the ball. This Q&A is edited from that longer conversation:
NBA.com: How do you think this season has gone, particularly since you’ve been back from your hip injury?
Bam Adebayo: Aw man, I feel like as a team, we learned a lot of lessons this fall. We’ve had guys in and out of the lineups. We’ve had big leads and still lost games. We’ve been in close games and won. Individually, we’ve all grown from those lessons. Everybody has taken a step to improve by 1% in whatever that may be. That may be dealing with a back cut. It may be increasing your free throw percentage. Or anything. I feel like everyone has done something to get 1% better.
That’s big, then, if you add up all those 1% improvements.
One hundred percent. [laughs] We’re in that culture for that.
Losing players to injuries, people typically talk about where the points or the assists will come from. But what does it do to a defense to have guys missing, new faces plugged into it, others now trying to get on the proverbial “string” to which all five men are supposed to stay tied?
When guys are out, the biggest thing a defense will miss is talking. Every defense will have one or two people who are the most vocal. They are the heat that makes the engine run. As soon as a guy goes out, who has to step up and continue talking? That’s the problem I feel a lot of defenses run into because then you’re not on the same page. … When one of those guys goes down, everybody has to be more vocal.
How and when did you learn to value defense? Was it in high school in North Carolina? In your year at Kentucky? Or has this been a Miami thing for you?
Nah, defense has always been a part of me. That’s definitely how I got on the court in Miami. But I feel it comes from having that workhorse mentality. Being available and continuing to give the effort. That’s defense — effort, effort, effort. Like Spo says in the media sometimes, “multiple efforts.” It’s being willing to “burn that extra calorie and get there.” That’s what we say in practice.
Every rep matters. Being a technician on defense. Being in the right spot. Talking. Watching film, learning guys’ tendencies. It matters. When you get to the playoffs, you understand that the game slows up and goes possession by possession.
It’s a common transition in this league for offensive-minded players to be nudged or pushed to improve defensively. You have gone in the other direction, a defender whose offense has been growing. Your shots and scoring average have gone up every season for seven years. That sounds like fun, but how have you made sure your defense hasn’t slipped?
Every time you’re on defense doesn’t mean you’re going to be in closeouts. It doesn’t mean your guy is going to get the ball and you have to play 1-on-1. There will be some games where I’ll be guarding the No. 1 or No. 2 option, but other nights I’ll be there vocally. Letting ‘em know where the screen is coming. “Watch the back door!” Then when we get the rebound, that’s my time to be aggressive. I’ve done my time vocally, now it’s time to catch it and go.
But some nights it might be, “Bam, you have to drive us on offense and defense.”
That sounds like a long night.
Yeah. Then I’ll do what I need to do after the game. Ice bath. Recovery. You figure it out after that.
What’s your view of the different types of defenders in this league: On-ball, rim protectors and those few like yourself who can guard multiple positions?
That’s what makes us special in this league. There’s only 450 of us, and now you’re talking about one or two guys per team. There’s only 30 teams. Then there’s how guys fit on their teams. Some coaches know how to maximize a guy’s potential. … Me and my coach are on the same page.
Do you have to fight uphill for DPOY consideration because of the stats that get the attention? On-ball defenders get noticed for how many points below his average they might “hold” their man. Rim protectors get lauded for blocked shots and opponents’ field goal percentages. But when you’re moving and switching and helping, inside and out, does that blur your case?
Uh … no. [laughs] People just have to see you. It’s always around playoff time that you’ll hear, “This is why he was in the running …” But in the regular season a lot of times, we’re not one of the highly talked-about teams. A lot of this game is about entertainment and there are guys who are very special on the offensive end. So I feel we just don’t get watched enough.
Some people think, “We don’t want to watch team basketball and everybody’s getting 20 points. We want to watch two of you get 70.” I get it because I did it. I grew up as a Kobe Bryant fan. I wanted to be like Kobe. It starts to register when you get older, nah, he was special. But growing up, you know everybody was throwin’ stuff in the trash can yelling, “Kobe!”
You’ve made it to the Finals twice. The first one in 2020 might not have happened if not for your signature defensive moment: the block of Boston’s Jayson Tatum at the end of Game 1 of the East finals in the Orlando “bubble.” You called that play an “out-of-body experience.” What sort of shelf life has that had for you?
It’s funny now because me and Jayson are so cool. We grew up together, we’ve seen each other go through college and flourish in this league. So it’s a fun moment. Out of all the people it could have been — we’ve been in camps together, we’ve been in pro league games, showcase games, all the way from kids to that point. So I always tell him it’s an anniversary and text him, “You know what day it is?”
rapelbaum
Bam DPOY!
msizzle344
I love that Bam sends Tatum a text every year reminding him about the block, that is hilarious. Our defense hasn’t been great this year, probably due to what he’s saying with guys missing time, but the pace of the league has picked up a ton and we need to tighten up that side. As much as I love him, he won’t have a chance unless we’re a top 3 defense and most likely the top overall or it’s Gobert
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Q&A: Bam Adebayo treasures role as quarterback of Heat’s team defense
Miami has grown to rely on the Heat star’s vocal leadership on defense and his ‘workhorse’ mentality.
Steve Aschburner
Steve Aschburner
Archive
Updated on December 28, 2023 12:44 PM
Bam Adebayo has been named to NBA All-Defense teams four times in his career.
If there’s such a thing as the Kia Defensive Player of the Year-in-waiting, Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo would be that guy.
He is the defensive signal caller on one of the league’s grittiest teams, riding that style to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023. Four times Adebayo, 26, has been named to NBA All-Defense teams, and the 6-foot-9 forward/center has finished in the Top 5 in DPOY balloting in each of the past four seasons.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has sanctioned the award as one worth chasing because of the good things that happen for the winner’s team. So Adebayo has been honest in his pursuit of it.
In the first in a series of interviews with candidates for this season’s DPOY, Adebayo spoke with NBA.com Wednesday about his role as Miami’s defensive leader and what’s required to thrive on that side of the ball. This Q&A is edited from that longer conversation:
NBA.com: How do you think this season has gone, particularly since you’ve been back from your hip injury?
Bam Adebayo: Aw man, I feel like as a team, we learned a lot of lessons this fall. We’ve had guys in and out of the lineups. We’ve had big leads and still lost games. We’ve been in close games and won. Individually, we’ve all grown from those lessons. Everybody has taken a step to improve by 1% in whatever that may be. That may be dealing with a back cut. It may be increasing your free throw percentage. Or anything. I feel like everyone has done something to get 1% better.
That’s big, then, if you add up all those 1% improvements.
One hundred percent. [laughs] We’re in that culture for that.
Losing players to injuries, people typically talk about where the points or the assists will come from. But what does it do to a defense to have guys missing, new faces plugged into it, others now trying to get on the proverbial “string” to which all five men are supposed to stay tied?
When guys are out, the biggest thing a defense will miss is talking. Every defense will have one or two people who are the most vocal. They are the heat that makes the engine run. As soon as a guy goes out, who has to step up and continue talking? That’s the problem I feel a lot of defenses run into because then you’re not on the same page. … When one of those guys goes down, everybody has to be more vocal.
How and when did you learn to value defense? Was it in high school in North Carolina? In your year at Kentucky? Or has this been a Miami thing for you?
Nah, defense has always been a part of me. That’s definitely how I got on the court in Miami. But I feel it comes from having that workhorse mentality. Being available and continuing to give the effort. That’s defense — effort, effort, effort. Like Spo says in the media sometimes, “multiple efforts.” It’s being willing to “burn that extra calorie and get there.” That’s what we say in practice.
Every rep matters. Being a technician on defense. Being in the right spot. Talking. Watching film, learning guys’ tendencies. It matters. When you get to the playoffs, you understand that the game slows up and goes possession by possession.
It’s a common transition in this league for offensive-minded players to be nudged or pushed to improve defensively. You have gone in the other direction, a defender whose offense has been growing. Your shots and scoring average have gone up every season for seven years. That sounds like fun, but how have you made sure your defense hasn’t slipped?
Every time you’re on defense doesn’t mean you’re going to be in closeouts. It doesn’t mean your guy is going to get the ball and you have to play 1-on-1. There will be some games where I’ll be guarding the No. 1 or No. 2 option, but other nights I’ll be there vocally. Letting ‘em know where the screen is coming. “Watch the back door!” Then when we get the rebound, that’s my time to be aggressive. I’ve done my time vocally, now it’s time to catch it and go.
But some nights it might be, “Bam, you have to drive us on offense and defense.”
That sounds like a long night.
Yeah. Then I’ll do what I need to do after the game. Ice bath. Recovery. You figure it out after that.
What’s your view of the different types of defenders in this league: On-ball, rim protectors and those few like yourself who can guard multiple positions?
That’s what makes us special in this league. There’s only 450 of us, and now you’re talking about one or two guys per team. There’s only 30 teams. Then there’s how guys fit on their teams. Some coaches know how to maximize a guy’s potential. … Me and my coach are on the same page.
Do you have to fight uphill for DPOY consideration because of the stats that get the attention? On-ball defenders get noticed for how many points below his average they might “hold” their man. Rim protectors get lauded for blocked shots and opponents’ field goal percentages. But when you’re moving and switching and helping, inside and out, does that blur your case?
Uh … no. [laughs] People just have to see you. It’s always around playoff time that you’ll hear, “This is why he was in the running …” But in the regular season a lot of times, we’re not one of the highly talked-about teams. A lot of this game is about entertainment and there are guys who are very special on the offensive end. So I feel we just don’t get watched enough.
Some people think, “We don’t want to watch team basketball and everybody’s getting 20 points. We want to watch two of you get 70.” I get it because I did it. I grew up as a Kobe Bryant fan. I wanted to be like Kobe. It starts to register when you get older, nah, he was special. But growing up, you know everybody was throwin’ stuff in the trash can yelling, “Kobe!”
You’ve made it to the Finals twice. The first one in 2020 might not have happened if not for your signature defensive moment: the block of Boston’s Jayson Tatum at the end of Game 1 of the East finals in the Orlando “bubble.” You called that play an “out-of-body experience.” What sort of shelf life has that had for you?
It’s funny now because me and Jayson are so cool. We grew up together, we’ve seen each other go through college and flourish in this league. So it’s a fun moment. Out of all the people it could have been — we’ve been in camps together, we’ve been in pro league games, showcase games, all the way from kids to that point. So I always tell him it’s an anniversary and text him, “You know what day it is?”
Bam DPOY!
I love that Bam sends Tatum a text every year reminding him about the block, that is hilarious. Our defense hasn’t been great this year, probably due to what he’s saying with guys missing time, but the pace of the league has picked up a ton and we need to tighten up that side. As much as I love him, he won’t have a chance unless we’re a top 3 defense and most likely the top overall or it’s Gobert