What can Bam get out of his first All-Star Game? ‘It just changes you,’ Spoelstra said
Jimmy Butler was happy Thursday to learn he’s going to the NBA All-Star Game for the fifth time in his career. He was even more happy, however, to find out Bam Adebayo will accompanying him to Chicago.
Adebayo was named an All-Star for the first time Thursday, so the Heat will have two players headed to the All-Star Game in February for the first time since Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh went in 2016. Butler’s inclusion wouldn’t have been a surprise in the preseason. Adebayo’s is a testament to the massive strides the post player has made in his third season.
“Bam makes us go, man, and I think everybody feels so happy for him because he works at it and he does everything so well,” Butler said. “I think everybody here is so proud of him, so happy for him because he deserves it. He came in this year with the mind set of, I’m going to prove that I’m one of the best players, and I think thus far he’s done it and he’s going to need to continue to do it for us to get to where we want to get to.”
Miami (31-14) traded for Butler in the offseason with the desire of finding an All-Star player to be the face of the organization. The wing was an All-Star every year from 2015-2018 before he missed out on the game last season in part because of a midseason trade from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference.
Adebayo never sniffed the game before this season. He started only 28 games last season behind star center Hassan Whiteside, who’s now with the Portland Trail Blazers, and he wasn’t even picked for the Rising Stars Challenge in either of his first two NBA seasons.
This year, Adebayo finished fourth among forwards in player voting and earned the respect of enough coaches to be one of seven East reserves voted into the game.
“It’s a reflection on his humility, his work ethic, his approach, competitive fierceness that he brings to competition,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Stuart Scott used to say, ‘Game respects game.’ Competitors respect competitors. Fierce competitors respect fierce competitors. And he’s able to do all of that and impact winning and still keep a humility about him that I think people are really drawn to, players and coaches alike.”
Adebayo will also compete in the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge the day before the All-Star Game at the United Center.
“I’m going to just go out there and try to be as skillful as I can be,” Adebayo said with a smile.
Adebayo’s first trip to All-Star Weekend reminded Spoelstra of Wade’s first in 2004. The budding superstar got to meet a slew of NBA legends, including Larry Bird and Julius Erving.
Wade came back from the game and was even better than he was in the first half of his rookie season.
“You can’t put a value on that,” Spoelstra said. “It just changes you.”
Said Butler: “It’s real humbling, like, Damn, I’m really in the locker room with LeBron [James], I’m in the locker room with Steph [Curry] or whoever it may be — guys at the top of the league. It’s like, I’m here. Now he’s going to get a taste of it. He’s like, You know what: I want to be this every year, so he’s going to continue to work to get better.”
Although Butler has gotten used to trips to the All-Star Game, this one will be special.
The 30-year-old spent his first six seasons with the Chicago Bulls and was an All-Star three times there. He’s obviously returned to face the Bulls before, but he’s looking forward to spending a whole weekend in Chicago next month.
“I love that city,” Butler said. “That city gave a kid his opportunity to show what he could become in this league, so I’m so happy that it’s there.”
The rosters for the two teams will be announced Thursday as part of a draft between James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
There’s no guarantee Butler and Adebayo wind up on the same team. In fact, Butler doesn’t want them to be.
“I don’t like Bam,” Butler joked. “I want to go against him.”
