Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo recently signed a huge contract extension, but it doesn’t mean he will be resting on his laurels.
The University of Kentucky product says that he has a different mindset about getting his big payday.
“There’s no [expletive] with me,” Adebayo said. “Just because I got money doesn’t mean that I got complacent. That’s not how my mind works. If anything, once you get paid, that puts a target on your back. So I thrive with that. That should make you wake up and work. I got paid, but there are other dudes behind me thinking they should have got what I got.”
Last season, his third in the NBA, Adebayo had a breakout season. He averaged 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, greatly increasing his production in each category.
His improvement played a big role in Miami having a surprising season, and for that, Adebayo was named to his first NBA All-Star team.
At times during the 2020 NBA Playoffs, he played even better than he did during the regular season, as he was a pivotal contributor to the Heat’s upsets of the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.
If Adebayo takes his game to yet another level this season, the Heat could very well surprise observers once again and return to the NBA Finals.