With the current NBA season in flux due to the novel coronavirus, Miami Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo is already setting goals for the 2020-21 season.
One such goal includes doing something that very few NBA players have ever done in the history of the league.
“During a Monday interview with longtime Heat play-by-play broadcaster Eric Reid, Adebayo was asked to predict his stat line for next season. Not afraid to raise expectations even higher, the 22-year-old said 20 points, 13 rebounds and six assists,” Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald wrote.
Adebayo himself offered the reason why he wanted to achieve the specific scoring average.
“I want to prove [coach Erik Spoelstra] wrong,” Adebayo said with a smile during the interview that was posted to the Heat’s Fox Sports Sun Twitter account on Monday night. “Spo said I wouldn’t be a 20-point scorer with the way we play.”
Chiang then offered some context on why Adebayo’s goals are so lofty.
“If Adebayo correctly predicts his numbers for a second straight season, it would be historic. Only two players in NBA history, according to Basketball Reference, have averaged at least 20 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in a season — Kevin Garnett in 2002-03 and Wilt Chamberlain in 1966-67 and 1967-68,” wrote Chiang.
It is worth it to note that when Chamberlain achieved the feat, he won NBA MVP both times.
When Garnett did, he came in second in the MVP voting to San Antonio Spurs great Tim Duncan. It wasn’t until the following season that Garnett nabbed his own MVP.
While it once seemed unlikely that Adebayo would be mentioned in the same sentence as two of the greatest and most versatile big men of all time, the 2019-20 season has proven otherwise.
Prior to the stoppage of play this year, Adebayo was averaging 16.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Clearly, his lofty goals are already in reach.
However, in order to average 20.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game, he’d have to take his already impressive game to the next level.
Hopefully the first-time All-Star is spending some of his current free time watching tape on many of the great big men that have come before him so that he can improve his chances of reaching his inspiring goals.
