Why drafting Bam Adebayo makes sense for the Miami Heat

To the surprise of many, the Miami Heat selected a center with the 14th pick in the draft. However, his versatility may end up making Bam Adebayo a steal.

Most mock drafts predicted Bam Adebayo going late in the first round. Needless to say, the Miami Heat surprised a lot of people when they selected Edrice ‘Bam’ Adebayo with the 14th pick of the draft.

It may seem like the Heat reached for Adebayo, but he was high on their draft board.

And they were not alone. The Bucks ranked Adebayo as the 9th best player in the draft. Given the recent success of the Bucks in uncovering hidden gems, the Heat may just have gotten the steal of the draft.

Bam Adebayo is 6’10” with a monstrous 7’2″ wingspan. He has a chiseled 250 pound physique that reminds many of Dwight Howard. Adebayo, a one-and-down player for Kentucky, averaged 13.0 points and a team high 8.0 rebounds per game. He also led Kentucky in blocks per game (1.5) and double-doubles (eight). Adebayo surged in the second half of the season, notching double-doubles in five of his last 11 games.

Adebayo is an elite athlete known for his monstrous dunks. In fact, Adebayo’s 101 dunks were more than Anthony Davis had at Kentucky and the most in the Calipari era. Bam’s propensity for dunking help account for his astronomical 59.9 field goal percentage.

His strength allows him to guard bigs in the post while his lateral quickness allows him to switch on to guards. He’s a beast on the offensive glass and has been compared by some to Cleveland Cavalier’s center Tristan Thompson.

However, Adebayo is more than just a defensive rim protector and offensive roll man. It was a previously unseen skill – perimeter shooting – that caused Adebayo to rise on many draft boards.

Via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald:

"Right now everybody is stunned at how Bam shoots the ball,” he said. “I must have had 10 calls. Like, ‘I didn’t realize he shot the ball this way.’ But they also didn’t realize Karl Anthony Towns shot the ball that way and you also didn’t realize that Anthony shot the ball the way he does. And so you would think following this thing how we do it, they all have to share, they all have to give up something to each other to be able to do what they’re doing here.”"

Adebayo is also humble. He didn’t initially plan to declare for the draft. Only at the urging of his Kentucky coach did Adebayo decide to turn pro.

"“He felt like I was doubting my potential,” Adebayo said of Calipari, via the New York Post. “He was like, ‘What’s wrong with you, man?’ He was like, ‘Go!’ I was like, ‘All right.’”"

Next: Twitter reacts to the Heat drafting Adebayo

Perhaps no better compliment can be given to Adebayo than this quote from TNT analyst Kenny Smith, “He’s a bigger, newer version of Udonis Haslem.”  Smith went on to say that Adebayo brings the same kind of toughness as UD.

While many did not expect the Heat to draft Bam Adebayo, the team may have just found a diamond in the rough.