MIAMI, September 11 – The Miami HEAT announced today that they have exercised their fourth-year team option on Bam Adebayo. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Adebayo, who was selected in the first round (14th overall) by the HEAT in the 2017 NBA Draft, was the only Miami player to appear in all 82 games (28 starts) last season and averaged 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 23.3 minutes while shooting a team-high 57.6 percent from the field. Among league leaders, he ranked 29th in total rebounds, tied for 31st in offensive rebounds, 32nd in defensive rebounds, 40th in rebounds per game and 40th in blocks. He scored a career-high 22 points at Phoenix on December 7 and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds at Toronto on November 25 off the bench, which marked the most by a reserve on the road in franchise history. In that same game, he also became the youngest player in HEAT history to grab at least 20 boards in a single game and the youngest player in the NBA to achieve the feat over the last 35 years. On December 28 vs. Cleveland, he shot a perfect 8-of-8, including a perfect 2-of-2 from the foul line, becoming the first player in team history to be perfect from both the field and the line with at least that many attempts. Additionally, he shot a perfect 6-of-6 from the field on November 14 at Brooklyn in just 10:04 minutes of action, marking the most field goals without a miss in 10:04 minutes or less in team history. Adebayo posted 11 double-doubles on the season and led the team in rebounds 20 times, assists on seven occasions, plus/minus five times and in scoring twice.