Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem is puzzled as to why Bam Adebayo hasn’t won the Defensive Player of the Year award in his career despite having a reputation as one of the NBA’s most versatile defenders.
In the most recent episode of The OGs podcast, Shane Battier chimed in with why it is so, saying that the league tends to be biased against players who are great in one-on-one defense.
“People don’t get credit for being able to bone up because you can’t be that physical anymore right? So if you say, well, he’s a one-on-one defender, you really can’t stop anybody anymore and you don’t get credit for that.” Battier said. “I give Bam all the credit in the world for being able to do what he does without allowing him to really use his strength and his speed.
“But we can see Wemby, Chet, and all these shot blockers. Well, they’re affecting shots, so that’s great defense. It’s a matter of perception,” he concluded.
To his credit, Bam Adebayo finished third in voting for this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Bam Adebayo is also named to the All-Defensive First Team for the first time in his career, joining Alonzo Mourning (1998-99 and 1999-00) and LeBron James (2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13) as the only players in Miami Heat history to achieve such feat.
Bam Adebayo misses out on huge Miami Heat salary bonus
Bam Adebayo is expected to sign a new lucrative extension with the Miami Heat soon, but he could’ve been eligible for a bigger payday if he was named to the 2024 All-NBA Teams.
If he made it to the cut, Adebayo was due for a four-year, $245 million extension this offseason. Instead, he will be qualified for a three-year contract worth $165 million.
The 26-year-old center is coming off a solid campaign for the Miami Heat, appearing in 71 regular-season games, averaging 19.3 points, a team-high 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per contest on 52.1 percent shooting from the field.
