Bam Adebayo is one of the most versatile big men in the NBA, and yet he is still showing us things that we have never seen before from him. The Miami Heat star will represent the United States basketball team this summer for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Team USA has been playing a few exhibition games already. The first two games were close victories against Canada and Australia. Their most recent victory was a 26-point win over Serbia, who they will face again later in the group stage in Paris.
Bam was a key player in this win for Team USA. While at one point the game was close, the lineup featuring Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo helped break the game open. Both backup centers outperformed the starting Joel Embiid in this game. Bam scored 17 points with three 3-points and also grabbed eight rebounds.
Heat center Bam Adebayo is making 3-pointers while playing power forward for Team USA.
Bam has never knocked down more than two 3-pointers in any NBA game before. He has been consistently working on his jump shot and knocked down a career-high in threes made last season. This summer, he looks much more confident in his long range jump shot. Adding a consistent jump shot to his arsenal would make Bam a complete offensive player with no true weakness. The ability to stretch the floor would allow for more flexibility in lineup creation, as well.
Speaking of lineup flexibility, Bam has shined in his role off the bench for Team USA so far. What is even more impressive and intriguing is that rather than playing the center position, he is often playing the backup power forward spot next to Davis or Embiid. This could be important for the Heat in several ways.
First, Adebayo is listed at 6-foot-9, which puts him in the lower echelon of other giant NBA centers. Although it does not limit his ability to guard taller players, there are certain situations in which the Heat would prefer to use a taller lineup. For example, using an athletic big man to guard Nikola Jokic while Bam plays the help or switch defender would have helped the Heat significantly in the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Heat just drafted a tall, athletic big man in Kel’el Ware. The strengths Bam has shown in the Team USA exhibition games would allow him to play at the four spot alongside Ware. What Bam has shown in terms of shooting the basketball and sliding to the power forward spot should make Heat fans excited for what is to come next season. Bam looks comfortable on Team USA. Now, we just need to see how his summer game translates against NBA teams.