Heat’s Bam Adebayo wins gold medal as United States’ defensive anchor against France
Bam Adebayo reached for an American flag and beamed while he draped it around his shoulders, and paraded around the court at the Saitama Super Arena on Saturday.
He was an All-Star for the first time in 2019 and went to his first NBA Finals last year. Now, only two years after being cut by the national team ahead of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Adebayo is an Olympic gold medalist after anchoring the United States’ defense in its 87-82 win against France in the championship game of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Saitama, Japan.
Superstar forward Kevin Durant was the engine for the United States on offense all throughout the tournament and, particularly, in the gold medal game, scoring 29 points on 9-of-18 shooting to beat France. Adebayo, though, was the defensive anchor and helped the United States survive an ugly first quarter to win its fourth straight gold in men’s basketball.
Playing in his first Olympics, Adebayo capped his two weeks in Japan by getting another starting nod and scoring six points with six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal in the final game of the Summer Olympics.
It was a consummate, all-around Adebayo performance on one of the biggest stages he’d ever experienced.
While the United States’ offense floundered in the first five minutes, Adebayo provided an important steadying presence. The star post player blocked a pair of shots in the opening 5:19, including one against Evan Fournier when the French wing tried to isolate against Adebayo, drove to the free throw line and had his shot swallowed up by the former All-Star.
Eleven seconds later, Adebayo grabbed a pass in the lane from Durant, pulled the ball out when he couldn’t get a clear angle against Rudy Gobert, then scored on a spinning fadeaway jumper from the baseline over the star center to cut France’s early lead to 12-6.
It was the start of a 21-6 run, which vaulted the United States out to a 25-18 lead. Adebayo added another block, steal and assist in the second quarter and went into halftime with two points, three rebounds, three blocks and a steal in 11:26, as the United States led 44-39.
France quickly trimmed the lead to 44-42 when power forward Guerschon Yabusele hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the second half, but Adebayo answered with a fadeaway from the elbow to push the lead back to 46-42. The United States never trailed after taking a 21-18 lead with 45 seconds left in the first quarter.
Adebayo, 24, is quickly putting together one of the most impressive resumes for a young player in the NBA after adding a gold medal to go along with his All-Star nod, his Finals trip and a pair of appearances on the NBA All-Defensive Team in the last two years.
“It hasn’t hit me yet,” Adebayo said before the game, “but it’s definitely going to make me a better player.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 12:27 AM.
