Heat president Pat Riley’s message to Bam Adebayo: ‘You got to go after this thing’
The Miami Heat has rewarded center Bam Adebayo for his on-court growth with two lucrative contract extensions since drafting him with the 14th overall pick in 2017.
The Heat signed Adebayo to a five-year extension worth $163 million in 2020 before signing him to a three-year max extension worth $165 million this past offseason that runs through the 2028-29 season when he’ll be 31 years old.
Adebayo, 27, has earned that money through his play as a three-time NBA All-Star who has been named to an NBA All-Defensive team in each of the last five seasons. But Heat president Pat Riley reminds Adebayo often that there’s still plenty to work for — like Adebayo’s first NBA championship.
“I tell him every day, ‘You got to go after this thing. Let’s go get it. Go get it. Nobody is going to give it to you,’” Riley said Thursday during a sit-down interview with a small group of reporters in his office overlooking Biscayne Bay ahead of Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Orlando Magic at Kaseya Center. “It was like when I was listening to a little piece the other day with Udonis [Haslem] and Dwyane [Wade]. We’re going to have the statue for Dwyane. Every time people will walk up those stairs and walk past that statue, they’ll know that he is a forever Heat lifer. When both of them were looking up at their numbers when we retired Udonis’ number, they both looked up and said: ‘That was earned.’ Bam is going to have to earn that stuff and you do it on the court.”
Adebayo, who is entering his eighth NBA season (all with the Heat), continues to grow his game. He added new layers to his offensive game while continuing to establish himself as one of the NBA’s best defenders last season.
Adebayo averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field last regular season. The 10.4 rebounds per game were a career high for Adebayo, but it’s his three-point shooting that became the story.
With Adebayo’s shot chart including plenty of midrange shots, he traded in some of those long twos for three-pointers late last season and the results were positive. After shooting just 1 of 14 (7.1 percent) on threes through his first 54 appearances of the regular season, he shot 14 of 28 (50 percent) from three-point range during his final 17 regular-season games.
It appears that three-point surge will continue this season, as Adebayo shot 5 of 13 (38.5 percent) from three-point range in four games this preseason. Even when Adebayo wasn’t shooting threes, he was often spaced behind the three-point line during the exhibition schedule to keep the paint open for the Heat’s offense.
“If I can get 10 percent a year better out of him every year, then we got somebody who’s unique,” Riley continued on Adebayo. “... Bam’s expansion of his game, ball handling. This is a testimony to Erik [Spoelstra] to bring him from where he was at Kentucky.
“Ever since we got Bam, his role has expanded to where he is a very important cog in our offense. I do believe that he will continue to improve. But if this goes down, that three goes down, it just opens up our game and his game.”
Adebayo was among those on the Heat’s roster who did not make the trip to Memphis, Tenn. for Friday night’s preseason finale against the Grizzlies. Terry Rozier, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Josh Richardson, Duncan Robinson, Alec Burks and Kevin Love also did not travel for the Heat’s final preseason game.
So, next up for Adebayo is Wednesday’s regular-season opener.
“He comes every year and he is better,” Riley said. “He’s got more confidence and everything. He’s pre-30 years old, but he’s eight years in already, too. So he’s been through a lot.”
SPOELSTRA PRAISE
Spoelstra has received plenty of praise over the years.
Spoelstra was recognized as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history in 2022. And in this year’s NBA preseason survey of general managers, Spoelstra nearly swept the coaching categories for the third straight season.
On Thursday, Riley complimented Spoelstra’s coaching ability when asked why the Heat decided to sign Spoelstra to an eight-year contract extension worth more than $100 million in January.
“Because there could be some team out there that can come at him with something really big,” Riley answered. “That’s the way it is in this league.
“He earned it, he deserved it. We all knew it was coming and we wanted to keep him, without a doubt. We paid him, I think, the market value. He’s an exceptional coach, not because the surveys every year say that. He’s an exceptional coach and he’s loyal to the organization. He’s a great teacher of our players, and he’s probably an even better teacher to all the coaches and the system that he has developed and how he teaches his coaches and gives them opportunities and how they use Sioux Falls.”
Spoelstra is entering his 17th season as the Heat’s head coach. He already holds the Heat record for regular-season wins (750) and playoff wins (110) by a head coach.
“He just does a great job,” Riley said. “You can’t find those kinds of guys. We were talking last night about it. ... Just take a look at the picture at [Spoelstra’s introductory] press conference 17 years ago. He did have a suit and tie on, but he looked like he was 15. And look at him today. We’re just very fortunate to have that kind of a leader.”
