by Joe Beguiristain
It’s been quite an eventful year for Bam Adebayo.
After being selected by the HEAT in last June’s draft, Adebayo quickly turned heads in Summer League and showed potential entering his rookie campaign.
Then that potential turned into a reality.
With some more playing time in December, Adebayo seized the opportunity and kept up his sharp play well into February. While rim-rocking jams were obviously part of the equation, the former Kentucky Wildcat also displayed good court vision with the ball in his hands, flashed the ability to switch onto wing players on the defensive end and protected the rim at an elite level.
So what does he credit for his success during that stretch?
“Getting comfortable with my teammates,” Adebayo said. “They knew I was going to make mistakes, but getting comfortable with somebody that you know that’s got your back [was important]. They always backed me up, even if I was wrong or right.”
Now that Adebayo has a better feel for the NBA game, it’s exciting to think about what’s to come, especially when you consider his strong work ethic.
“There’s really no particular part of my game that I’m not working on. You just got to work on everything,” Adebayo said. “Some things need to be worked on more than others, but you got to keep the mechanics.”
For the second straight year, the big fella will work on those mechanics in Summer League, which begins July 2 in Sacramento. After participating in the California Classic, the HEAT will make their way to Vegas for some more action.
“I’m just going into Summer League with an open mindset. Whatever EG [Eric Glass] needs me to do, I’ll do that for my team to win,” Adebayo said. “EG is a great dude. He wants you to work. He wants to do anything to make you better, so if it’s something about your jump shot, diet, he’s all for the team and making us better.”
Speaking of jump shots, perhaps we’ll see some more threes from Adebayo once the summer gauntlet gets going.
When asked if he’ll take over or under five threes during Summer League, he thought about it for a few seconds and then it hit him.
“Over,” he said with a smile.