Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo recently gained some bulletin board material when he wasn’t even named a finalist for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Adebayo called the snub disrespectful, and he’ll surely use it as motivation going forward.
It’s not the first time he’s felt disrespected this season, however. The 24-year-old also apparently took offense to something Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green did earlier in the season.
“For instance, a few months ago, Miami’s Bam Adebayo was livid after listening to Green’s podcast because he wasn’t named as a shoo-in for Defensive Player of the Year,” wrote Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports.
“So Adebayo gave Green a call.”
Adebayo clearly wanted more respect from Green for his defensive impact.
“He was like, ‘What the f—, you mean nobody has solidified themselves as Defensive Player of the Year?'” Green recalled. “‘Do you not watch me play?'”
It’s worth noting that Green had actually not seen Adebayo play much at that point in the season.
“It was a fair question,” Rohlin wrote. “Green hadn’t watched Adebayo play much because Miami’s games often conflicted with him getting ready for his own, a reality he acknowledged to the Heat’s big man.”
Adebayo is undoubtedly one of the best defensive players in the NBA, but it certainly seems like he gets overlooked by some.
His impact definitely doesn’t go overlooked by the Heat, however. Miami knows exactly what he brings to the table and would be a totally different team without him.
In addition to his stellar defense, Adebayo averaged 19.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in the regular season. He helped the Heat capture the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The team is now looking to make a run to the 2022 NBA Finals, and it is off to a great start. Miami has a 2-0 series lead on the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
