Miami Heat star big man Bam Adebayo attempted just 12 shots from behind the three-point arc during the 2022-23 regular season and made one of them. But he recently said that the 2023-24 season is when the three-point shot will become a bigger part of his game.
“Yeah,” Adebayo told the Miami Herald when asked if this year is the year that the three-point shot will become a bigger part of his game. “Talking to Spo (Erik Spoelstra), obviously he wants me to keep improving. I obviously want to keep improving. Obviously, it’s a big emphasis to us because when everybody can space the floor, we’re a better team hands down. So, yeah.”
Adebayo was selected with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft after one season playing college basketball at the University of Kentucky. He averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game in 38 appearances with the Wildcats during the 2016-17 season (all starts).
The 6-foot-9 big man has played six seasons in the NBA, all as a member of the storied Heat franchise. He averaged 20.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game across 75 games played with the Heat in the 2022-23 regular season (all starts). Adebayo also shot the ball with impressive accuracy from the field, seeing as how he converted 54.0 percent of his field-goal attempts.
Adebayo earned an All-Star nod — the second of his pro career — along with a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team for his contributions on both ends of the court during the regular season.
The 26-year-old managed to carry over his excellent play from the 2022-23 regular season into the 2023 playoffs. Arguably his best series of the 2023 playoffs came against Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. Adebayo averaged 21.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game during the championship series while shooting 45.5 percent from the field.
The big man’s heroics during the NBA Finals weren’t enough for the Heat to beat the Nuggets, though, as Denver eliminated the Heat in five games to win the title.
Here’s to hoping that Adebayo will be taking and making multiple 3-pointers per game during the 2023-24 regular season. After all, if he can add a reliable three-point shot to his offensive arsenal, opposing teams will have a more difficult time defending him.
