Adebayo never stopped working hard — he knew success was coming. Now, he’s an All-Star
Bam Adebayo has a diverse skill set on the court, and apparently he can also predict the future.
Months before the start of Adebayo’s third NBA season, he was already telling those around him what the next year had in store for him.
“I said 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists,” Adebayo said with a grin. “I remember.”
Russell Westbrook, Nikola Jokic, and reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo were the only three players who finished with those averages last season. So, there were some who believed Adebayo’s vision was unrealistic in his first season as the Heat’s starting center.
But as the 22-year-old Adebayo prepares to play in first NBA All-Star Game on Sunday at the United Center, he entered the break averaging those numbers almost on the nose with 15.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Jimmy Butler will also represent the Heat in the All-Star Game, marking the first time the organization has had two All-Stars since the 2015-16 season when Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade earned the honor.
Adebayo will also be part of All-Star Saturday night as a participant in the Skills Challenge.
“It’s not really a shocker,” Adebayo said of averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals (1.2), blocks (1.2) and minutes (34.5) this season. “I feel the biggest thing about my success is just being a humble person and being on time. Just being a great guy in the locker room, a great guy on the court, being a fierce competitor with a fierce work ethic. I feel like the sky is the limit for anybody who has that.”
Adebayo’s production is not a surprise to Heat president Pat Riley either. After all, Riley declared during Adebayo’s introductory press conference in June 2017: “One day, this jersey is going to be hanging up in the rafters.”
The way Adebayo carries himself off the court, though? Riley admits that has been one of the most impressive aspects behind Adebayo’s evolution since the Heat drafted him with the 14th overall pick in 2017.
“His real core values are core values,” Riley said. “There’s no other way you could explain somebody that young that is so mature. He’s a man child. He’s so respectful of the game. He never complained. Even those years when he was not playing that much, playing behind Hassan [Whiteside] or with him. As he was growing, he just kept working.
“When NBA players just shut their mouth — and I don’t say this negatively — and they work and they ask, probe on how they can get better, they become who Bam has become to this point.”
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SON
Adebayo learned this patient and steady approach from his mother, Marilyn Blount. As a single mother working at the Acre Station Meat Farm, Blount raised Adebayo in a single-wide trailer home in Little Washington, North Carolina.
Growing up with his mother in that trailer home shaped Adebayo. His father didn’t play an active role in his upbringing.
“That’s one of the greatest things about Bam,” said Kevin Graves, who was Adebayo’s AAU coach and is still a big part of Adebayo’s life as a mentor. “He doesn’t care about shining over people. You know how some guys get frustrated their rookie year or second year because they’re like, ‘I’m not getting enough touches. I’m not shooting enough jump shots.’ All Bam wants to do is win.”
Even with a huge contract waiting for Adebayo when his rookie deal expires, there’s not much talk from him behind the scenes about that looming payday. Because Adebayo learned from his mother that nothing is guaranteed in life.
“I always told Bam that and I still tell him that today,” Blount said. “You can have it today and gone tonight. Not tomorrow. Nothing is promised to you.”
Blount raised Adebayo to understand the value of saving money rather than just spending it.
“His mom raised him in a way where Bam is not impressed by bright shiny stuff, and his mom isn’t either,” Graves said. “I think you emulate your parents, man. Bam is not into, let me go out and buy a $2 million house, let me buy all this furniture. Bam is not into the Bentleys, the Ferraris, the jewelry because his mother is not like that.”
Graves remembers taking Adebayo to South Beach for a post-game dinner early in his NBA career. Where did Adebayo choose to eat that night? The TGI Fridays on Ocean Drive.
The nice Nike sneakers Adebayo is usually wearing? Those are part of the free allotment he gets as an NBA player.
Adebayo is even able to save money on food and dry cleaning because he lives in the same downtown Miami condominium building as his mother, who helps in both areas. Adebayo lives on the 48th floor and Blount lives on the fifth floor.
There is no need for a cleaning service either, as Adebayo takes it upon himself to make sure everything in his condo is immaculate. He also learned that from his mother. With the help of his robot vacuum he nicknamed “Dexter,” Adebayo makes sure to keep everything clean and neat with his shoes organized a certain way and his hoodies coordinated by color.
BAM, THE WORKER
“His routine to me is what makes him the person he is,” Graves said. “Takes a nap at the same time every day. Gets up to eat at the same time every day. Gets early to treatment. Gets early to the massages he needs to do to make sure his body is ready. He goes early to shootaorund, he gets early to game prep. He goes early, leaves late. He has been doing that since he was a small pup.”
Adebayo gets to practice early and inserts himself into ball-handling and passing drills with guards because he wants to become the best all-around player he can be. That’s something he started doing as a rookie, and it has paid off with Adebayo averaging the second-most assists among centers this season behind only Jokic.
“It’s more about trying to maximize the things that he could do,” Erik Spoelstra said of the Heat coaching staff’s approach with Adebayo. “He’s a unique player. Then to continue to add more to his plate every two or three weeks. ... All of these things are creating a different player. That’s the most important thing. He’s a winning player, but even where he is right now, I believe he’ll be a different player by the end of the season.”
While the coaching staff has helped facilitate Adebayo’s growth, a lot of it starts with Adebayo’s drive to never stop improving.
“Bam is a self-starter. He’ll work on his own,” Riley said. “He’ll do whatever he has to do and he does it professionally. I think that’s one of the reasons why he has grown quickly into who he is today. A great leader, a very supportive teammate. A guy who says ‘Yes sir’ to his staff not because he has to, but because he’s respectful. And I ‘Yes Sir’ him back. You return that kind of respect.”
Like Butler, Adebayo was voted into the All-Star Game by conference coaches as an Eastern Conference reserve. While Adebayo didn’t get in as a starter, the voting process proved he has the respect of his peers with Adebayo finishing with the fourth-most votes from current players among Eastern Conference frontcourt candidates.
“I feel like the All-Star Game is one of those things that you have to prove to be in,” Adebayo said. “I feel like so far this season, I’ve proven that. ... It’s just crazy to think about. I’ve always wanted to be an All-Star and I am one now. [Udonis Haslem] has high expectations for me from this point on. He wants me to be an All-Star every year and that’s another challenge to look forward to.”
The next step for Adebayo is to add an outside shot to his offensive repertoire. His shot mechanics are solid and his perimeter shots consistently go in during workouts, so the potential is there.
Adebayo just hasn’t shown that part of his skill set yet in games, with 317 of the 334 shots he has made this season coming from inside the paint. He is 17 of 75 on shots from outside the paint, including 1 of 11 on threes.
ALL-STAR EXPERIENCE
That part of Adebayo’s game is still a work in progress. For now, he just wants to enjoy his first All-Star Game experience and make the most of his time around future and current Hall of Famers.
“Just being in the locker room and getting to talk to them and getting their stories about past All-Star Games, past Finals and pick their brains a little bit,” Adebayo said. “Then you also have the retired Hall of Famers walking around. You get to pick their brains a little.”
Riley believes All-Star Weekend will give players from around the league a chance to get to know what Adebayo is all about.
“You show a genuine professional respect, a decorum. Other players notice how you carry that decorum to the All-Star Game,” Riley said. “You can be about yourself, you can be about branding everything, you can be about this, that and everything. Players, today, are so smart that they don’t miss anything.
“When they see Bam come, Bam is coming there to probably win and he’s coming to play hard and at the same time have some fun.”
When asked what the All-Star Game will mean for Adebayo, Graves brought up a conversation he had with Adebayo the night he was drafted by the Heat.
“Listen, man,” Graves said to Adebayo. “To me, you’re not really a lottery pick because they call your name in the lottery.”
Adebayo was confused, responding: “Coach, what do you mean?”
“You’re a lottery pick if you’re top five in your draft class five years after you get drafted,” Graves said. “Then you’re a lottery pick. Because five years after you get drafted, if you’re top five, then you make lottery money.”
Adebayo is one of three players from the 2017 draft class in Sunday’s All-Star Game, along with Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Boston’s Jayson Tatum.
And as Adebayo continues to ascend in the NBA world, a framed photo of the trailer home he grew up in with his mother hangs in his condo as a reminder of his journey. Fifteen words were engraved on a metal plate near the bottom of that frame: “Never forget where you came from, and never lose sight of where you are going.”
“I think the most impressive thing about Bam as a human being is that he is genuinely sincere about people, about how he cares about people, all people,” Riley said. “Not just his teammates, but how he treats people with respect and how he reveres his mom and the close and real tight-knit circle that he has.
“To me, that’s pretty damn impressive when you have a guy who doesn’t show any kind of arrogance at all. At least, I have never seen any. It doesn’t take away from when he hits the court, he’s competitive as hell. It’s just the way he is.”
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 1:21 PM.
