All-Star Game- Jimmy Butler & Bam Adebayo
While Jimmy Butler should be a no-brainer when it comes to his All-Star candidacy this season, Bam Adebayo is rapidly approaching that airspace. When looking at the best bigs in the Eastern Conference and in fact the entire league, outside of Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo, no other big man affects the game in as many ways as Bam Adebayo does.
He scores the ball, he rebounds the ball, and he defends. He has even started to fully embrace his ball skills, being able to grab and go, taking the defensive rebound and moving the ball up the court himself. While Jimmy will be there, Bam should be too and as apart of the All-Star Game roster, but hey, we are talking about a guy who got left off of Team USA’s roster for Myles Turner (bet they are kicking themselves for that one).
NBA Skills Competition- Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro
Realistically, the Miami Heat have several players that weren’t even mentioned here. Kelly Olynyk could complete if he were interested and so could Goran Dragic. With Jimmy Butler’s do everything that’s needed mentality this season, he could even make a case to be in this competition if he wanted to.
The likely candidates from the Heat would be Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo though. As mentioned in the “All-Star Game” section, Bam Adebayo has all the ball skills you ever did want from any ballplayer, nevertheless one as big and physically imposing as him. Kendrick Nunn will have the most trouble in the passing portions of the skills competition( Sorry Kendrick, we had to), but he still could compete, while Tyler Herro needs no introduction or explanation, he is a skilled, creating, clutch-performing, walking bucket.