Your Miami HEAT have re-signed Bam Adebayo to a contract extension.
“One of the most important things a franchise can do is to make sure that your best, youngest, cornerstone players sign on the dotted line,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “Getting Bam his extension was a no-brainer for us because we know he will be around for years to come. That’s great for the HEAT, great for the fans and great for Bam.”
Adebayo, a 2020 NBA All-Star, appeared in 72 games (all starts) last season and averaged 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.29 blocks, 1.14 steals and 33.6 minutes while shooting 55.7 percent from the field. Named as a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, he finished among league leaders in starts (tied-3rd), total rebounds (7th), defensive rebounds (7th), rebounds per game (8th), double-doubles (9th), triple-doubles (tied-9th), games played (tied-9th), offensive rebounds (11th), field goal percentage (12th), blocks per game (18th), free throws made (tied-22nd), minutes per game (32nd), and assists per game (33rd). The 2020 NBA Skills Champion set single-season career highs last season in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, field goals made, free throws made, starts, minutes, double-doubles and triple-doubles. Adebayo recorded 28 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block in just 36:10 minutes of action on February 20 at Atlanta, becoming the first player in NBA history to record at least those totals in that few of minutes. Additionally, he recorded three triple-doubles last season, joining Jimmy Butler (3), to become just the third and fourth players in franchise history to record at least three triple-doubles in a single season. Adebayo and Butler also became the first pair of teammates to each record at least three triple-doubles prior to the All-Star break since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen did so in 1992-93.
In the postseason during Miami’s run to the NBA Finals, Adebayo appeared in 19 games (all starts) and averaged 17.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.00 steals and 36.2 minutes while shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 78.3 percent from the foul line. He posted eight 20-point double-doubles, the second-most for a single postseason in HEAT history and led the team in scoring average (21.8) during the Eastern Conference Finals series win against Boston. He posted 32 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, becoming the only player in NBA postseason history to post at least those numbers in an East Finals game. Additionally, he became just the fourth to ever do so in any Conference Finals, joining Kevin Durant (6/6/12), Karl Malone (5/24/98) and Elgin Baylor (3/17/60).