Miami Heat star cracks top 20 in ESPN's top 100 player rankings, other falls

Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo is poised to have a strong season, and ESPN seems to agree. In ESPN’s ranking of the top 100 players for the 2024-25 NBA season, Adebayo was ranked as the 18th best player in the league.

This spot presumably ranks Bam as the fourth-best center in the NBA, behind Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Victor Wembanyama. Bam was also ranked ahead of Heat co-star Jimmy Butler, who was 28th.

Bam Adebayo is being recognized as the Miami Heat's best player over Jimmy Butler.

Depending on how you look at things, Bam could be considered to be ranked too low or just right compared to the rest of the players in the league. Overall, his ranking seems fair. According to ESPN, voters were asked "Which player will be better in 2024-25?"

Based on this question, it makes sense that voters would place Bam ahead of Butler. While Bam is likely to improve this season, Butler recently turned 35 years old and will likely show some signs of regression. Although Butler is still the best player on the Miami Heat right now, we could be talking about Bam as the Heat’s best player and leader by the end of the season.

For the same reason, it makes sense that Victor Wembanyama was ranked ahead of Bam at spot 11. While Wembanyama had an impressive rookie season, Adebayo received an All-Star selection and had a better overall season. Bam might be considered the better player today, but that could change by the end of the season.

Adebayo was even ranked ahead of some All-NBA caliber players, such as Ja Morant, Kawhi Leonard, and Domantas Sabonis. Could Bam meet or exceed expectations this season and earn an All-NBA selection? Only time will tell, but it looks like the fate of the Heat’s season will rest on the progression of Bam’s skillset.