It’s a short list of Miami Heat players who’ve been awarded the honor of being the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. While LeBron James (2012 and 2013) was the lone star to achieve the regular season award, we shouldn’t neglect others in Heat-history who came close.
In 1999, Alonzo Mourning finished as the MVP runner-up to Karl Malone and ten years later, Dwyane Wade was placed third in voting behind James and Kobe Bryant. Last season, Miami Heat media had thrown Jimmy Butler’s name in the hat but an unsettling year for Miami only hindered his chances.
Unsettling is the word and the last time we’ve seen Bam Adebayo on an NBA floor, he didn’t perform at the level of those names aforementioned. An embarrassing first-round sweep against the Milwaukee Bucks ignited scrutiny for the Heat and especially Bam, who showed a lack of assertiveness when it was needed most.
Whether one expected Adebayo to perform better in the playoffs is irrelevant. Despite his wavering confidence at times, Bam’s skillset and potential should never be questioned.
Already achieving the unimaginable in his career, it ranges from receiving All-Star honors in 2020 to dropping 32 points in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat should be elated to have a franchise centerpiece like him and one they can build around for several years.
Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo Will Be MVP Candidate – Scoring Needs To Be There
With the development of a pivotal role for Team USA during the 2021 Olympics and with the addition of free-agent maestro, Kyle Lowry, a year of retaliation is pending for both the Heat and Adebayo. Add the likelihood that Miami contends in the Eastern Conference, the league MVP conversation door is only beginning to open for their 24 year-old center.
From a talent perspective, Adebayo isn’t far away from recent MVP winners, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, who have become transcendent big-men in today’s game. And already among the elite at his respective position, the timing just seems impeccable for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to utilize Adebayo more than ever as a go-to option.
Ultimately, his growth begins with taking the initiative — as a scorer.
Scoring Dependability
Adeabyo’s offensive responsibilities were limited when he first arrived in the NBA. Serving mostly as a lob-threat, he received minimal touches early on.
Eventually, he would transition from strictly a roll-man, into a dependable shot-creator and isolation scorer. We saw those abilities improve last year, as he became Miami’s second leading scorer at 18.7 points per game.
After extending his shooting range to within 12-18 feet, Adebayo took his scoring prowess to even greater heights, a 62.6 True-Shooting percentage with just under 13 shot attempts.
- January 2021 (19 games) , 20.2 points, 10 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 57 percent field-goal, and 87 percent free-throws.
Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo Will Be MVP Candidate – The Aggression Is In There
In arguably the best offensive stretch of his career, Adebayo’s run in January included a career-high 41 points, in a 124-128 road loss against the Brooklyn Nets.
Why You Know It’s There
Given this performance was without Butler, who was dealing with the league’s Health and Safety protocols, a dominating effort against the Nets — with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving all in the lineup — shouldn’t be discounted.
With the continued development of Bam’s scoring, the possibilities are endless with Lowry’s playmaking aptitude. As one of the best finishers in the league, having a creativeness about himself too, that will lead to more touches.
Once he receives the pass, the shot-quality and decision making will factor-in but hopefully, it’s at a higher volume.
- In 18 games, Adeabyo averaged 23.5 points on 65.5 percent shooting whenever he attempted a minimum of 15 field-goals.
A point of discussion in recent years has been whether Adebayo should expand his game as a perimeter shooter. While converting on 7-44 attempts from beyond the arc for his career, it isn’t likely for Bam to have the green light anytime soon, but he’s also too skilled at the basket to shy from what he does best.
"“I want Bam to attack the rim because nobody can stay in front of him,” Butler said during a late-season loss last season. Nobody can stay in front of him. Go. You’re going to get fouled or you’re going to dunk on somebody. That’s cool. I love him shooting midrange jump shots too, but he lets people off the hook. Play bully ball. I like bully ball.”"
The Heat will need all three of their stars to carry the bulk of the scoring load next season. However, with Butler turning 32 next month and Lowry turning 36 in April, it’s necessary for Miami’s veteran stars to defer to Adebayo for scoring.
Given the right opportunities, he’ll showcase it immediately.
Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo Will Be MVP Candidate – Can’t Forget The Playmaking
Adebayo’s ability to run an offense is endlessly evolving and it’s an underrated part of his game. Whether it’s finding backdoor-cutters from either elbow or the top of the key, Bam simply makes his teammates better with his vision, which is key for an MVP vote.
Playmaking Impact
He’ll even retain his most-designated offensive weapon next season, with Miami re-signing elite sharpshooter, Duncan Robinson, to a five-year and $90 million dollar deal.
And despite the “predictable” connections, (on dribble-handoffs), the actions between Adebayo and Robinson will remain as one of more the effective in the league.
Comparing to Jokic, who won last season’s MVP and the first center since Tim Duncan to do it when he did in 2003, it has created a realistic path for Adebayo to follow next year. While Bam ranks a tier lower than Jokic on offense, his instincts to see over the defense is just as good as any center we’ve seen in the modern era.
That and his athleticism to pop should give him a strong case. Well, that and the rest of the mentioned qualities.
Miami Heat: Bam Adebayo Will Be MVP Candidate – Defensive Anchor
After a strong case for Defensive Player of The Year last season, Adebayo proved to be one of the more phenomenal multi-positional defenders in the league.
Defensive Impact
His steals (1.2) and blocks (1.0) weren’t eye-popping in comparison to other candidates, but expect Bam to continue impacting the game on the defensive end in ways which cannot be statistically valued.
- Last season, opposing NBA All-Stars were held to a combined 65-179 field-goals (36 percent) when defended by Adeabyo.
Though his offense stills need to take off next season, Adebayo is going to accept the challenge of defending the other team’s third, second, or possibly first offensive assignment. Expect him to continue leading Miami, as their defensive versatility should be much-improved.
Reaching MVP-status is always a steep climb and the reality is that much would have to be in Miami’s favor for Adebayo to receive consideration. However, Bam is a max-level talent and his ceiling is high enough to start to embrace it.
It’s important for Miami to have instilled confidence that he can become a player of that caliber now and the opportunity to prove it so has been a longtime coming. Let’s see what he does with it.