Adebayo’s agenda for the summer: Further refine his offense — and win a gold medal in Paris
The Heat’s early playoff exit has left starting center Bam Adebayo with a longer offseason than he anticipated.
“Man, I got so much time. I don’t even know what to do with it,” Adebayo said after the Heat’s season ended May 1 at the hands of the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. “It sounds ridiculous.”
But Adebayo’s offseason will be busier than most, as he is on Team USA’s 12-man roster for the Olympics this summer in Paris. He also will work on his individual game throughout the summer to return to the Heat next season as an improved version of himself.
“This is the time when you really just reflect on the season, reflect on what happened, reflect on yourself and how you can be better and what could have been different,” Adebayo said.
Adebayo is coming off his seventh NBA season. He added new layers to his offensive game this season while continuing to establish himself as one of the NBA’s best defenders.
Adebayo, who turns 27 in July, averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field this regular season.
The 10.4 rebounds are a career high, but it was his three-point shooting that became the story late in the season.
With Adebayo’s shot chart including a lot of midrange attempts, he traded in some of those long twos for three-pointers in the final months of the season, and the results were positive. After shooting just 1 of 14 (7.1 percent) on threes through his first 54 appearances of the season, he shot 14 of 28 on threes in his final 17 regularseason games.
“Bam is now going into his eighth year next year already — time flies,” said Heat president Pat Riley, whose front office drafted Adebayo with the 14th overall pick in 2017. “His growth spurt from his rookie year to what he is right now has been off the charts.
“Everybody knows in the league what his game is. They all know what he does for us, how important he is for us in a lot of areas.”
But Riley also added that Adebayo “has to expand his game.” Riley expects him to talk with coach Erik Spoelstra
about that.
“Bam has to look at his game and sit with Coach. How can he get better and expand his game?” Riley said.
Adebayo’s potential areas for growth on offense include continuing to refine his post-up package, finding ways to generate more shots around the rim and making the three-point shot a bigger part of his game.
Adebayo noted that he wants to get better this offseason at “being able to coach my teammates through the offense while the game is happening.” The Heat has finished the last two regular seasons with a bottom-10 offense.
“Being able to tell my teammates where to go, what to do throughout the course of the game and really pick that up,” Adebayo said. “I feel like that can only help us.”
On the defensive end, there’s not as much room for improvement for Adebayo. He’s already an elite defender who finished third in the voting for this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, which went to Minnesota Timberwolves center
Rudy Gobert.
Known for his ability to guard every position and unique versatility in different defensive schemes, Adebayo anchored a topfive Heat defense this season. Despite the team’s season-long injury issues, the Heat closed the regular season with the NBA’s fifth-best defensive rating.
“Work smarter instead of harder, I feel like that was my mind shift,” Adebayo said of his defense this season.
“Being able to help people before certain situations happen. Being able to actually talk everybody through a scheme, being able to teach that scheme. I feel like I did a great job with that.”
This season was also Adebayo’s first as the Heat’s captain following the retirement of longtime captain Udonis Haslem. What did Adebayo learn from the experience?
“It sucks,” Adebayo said with a laugh. “Because you learn that it’s not about you, you can’t walk in any day and say today is about me. You can’t do that because you’re the captain. You got to think of so many other people before yourself.”
Adebayo’s focus will soon shift to the Olympics, as he’ll report to Team USA training camp in Las Vegas in July. So even with a longer offseason than he had anticipated, Adebayo isn’t letting his mind wander too far from basketball.
“I don’t think you disconnect. I feel like you still watch basketball,” Adebayo said of his down time.
“You get the time off physically, but mentally you still think about it because you have to be mentally ready going into the Olympics.”
This will be Adebayo’s second appearance in the Summer Games after helping Team USA win gold at the pandemicaltered Tokyo Olympics in 2021. But it will be his first opportunity to play in full arenas at the Olympics. Adebayo will also have a chance to become the first player to win multiple Olympic gold medals while with the Heat.
Adebayo said he’s excited about the Paris Games “because I feel like this is the original form. You got the people in the stands, you’re actually able to see people at the ceremony, you get to see what it’s like to be in a different environment . ... And then also, we win and I get another banner.”
Along with possibly getting another gold, Adebayo may get a contract extension from the Heat this offseason. Adebayo, who is currently under contract through the 2025-26 season, becomes eligible on July 7 to sign a contract extension with the Heat that would keep him in Miami for years to come.
Adebayo will be eligible to sign a four-year, $245 million extension with the Heat this offseason if he meets the supermax criteria.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
DALLAS 2, OKLAHOMA CITY 1
G1: Oklahoma City 117, Dallas 95
G2: Dallas 119, Oklahoma City 110
G3: Dallas 105, Oklahoma City 101 Monday: at Dallas
Wednesday: at Oklahoma City, 9:30 x-Saturday: at Dallas, 8:30 x-Monday, May 20: at Oklahoma City, TBA DENVER 2, MINNESOTA 2
G1: Minnesota 106, Denver 99
G2: Minnesota 106, Denver 80
G3: Denver 117, Minnesota 90
G4: Denver 115, Minnesota 107
Tuesday: at Denver, 10:30
Thursday: at Minnesota, 8:30 x-Sunday: at Denver, TBA The only way Adebayo can still become eligible for the supermax this summer is by being named to an All-NBA team (first, second or third) for this season. Those teams will be announced later in the playoffs.
If Adebayo doesn’t qualify for the supermax, he will be eligible for a three-year contract worth $165 million. Any extension Adebayo signs this offseason would begin in the 2026-27 season when he’ll be 29.
One thing is for sure, the Heat values Adebayo’s contributions on and off the court. The Heat views him as a franchise pillar.
“He’s at a point right now where he’s an AllNBA player,” Riley said. “We’re happy to have him.”
Anthony Chiang: 305-376-4991, @Anthony_Chiang
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