Miami Heat: ESPN’s top 100 NBA players – 16. Jimmy Butler & 21. Bam Adebayo
ESPN ranked Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo 21st on their list. He was ranked 13th on the list in 2020, meaning he fell eight spots.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler was ranked 16th overall by ESPN on this year’s list. Last season, Butler was ranked 12th, meaning he ended up falling four spots on their list.
21. Bam Adebayo
The question they have about Adebayo is less of a question and more of a statement. ESPN states that Adebayo needs to continue to develop his offensive game, while also improving even more on defense.
Basically, they just said that the young star needs to stay on the same path he is currently on. The only thing of substance in that “question” is that Adebayo has to do more on offense.
The players around Adebayo on this list include Zion Williamson (23), Jrue Holiday (22), Kyrie Irving (20), and Khris Middleton (19). It’s weird to see that Adebayo fell so many spots, but overall, this is a pretty fair ranking for him.
16. Jimmy Butler
ESPN’s biggest question about Butler going into this year is, once again, less of a question and more of a statement. They say that Butler needs to step up once again and lead the Miami Heat to the promised land.
This isn’t really anything surprising, because if the Heat are ever going to have any success, Butler is going to be the one to lead them there. He’s been the leader in Miami ever since he got there, and he will continue to be.
The players surrounding Butler on this list are Donovan Mitchell (18), Trae Young (17), Devin Booker (15), and Jayson Tatum (14). There’s an easy argument to put Butler higher on this list, but this ranking is just fine.