Although the 2023-24 season didn't treat the Miami Heat nicely, it definitely helped in building Bam Adebayo's brand. The franchise cornerstone became a 3X All-Star, 2X Olympic Gold Medalist, first team All-Defensive member and a Defensive Player of the Year finalist all in one year.
The Heat's assistant coach Caron Butler recently spoke on SiriusXM NBA Radio to address this: 'When you talk about versatility, when you talk about a two-way defender, I mean, it's a crime that he hasn't won Defensive Player of the Year.'
Adebayo has matured into a truly generational defensive talent that has little to no flaws on that end.
He is the only big man (and maybe even player in general) that could guard 1-5 at an elite rate. His presence is always felt on that end of the floor, whether it is switching onto guards like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving or holding his own against Nikola Jokic.
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