Bam Adebayo makes All-NBA defensive 2nd team

The versatile big man is now officially part of an elite defensive group.

Today, the NBA announced that Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was officially named to the 2022-2023 NBA All-Defensive Second Team. He earned 13 first team votes, and 27 second team votes. It will be his 4th consecutive NBA All-Defensive Team selection, and the 18th by a Heat player in franchise history.

Both the first and second team’s consisted of these players:

That is some great company to be in if you are Adebayo. Being involved in the same tiers of the best defenders in the NBA as players like Jaren Jackson Jr., Brook Lopez, Jrue Holiday, Draymond Green and OG Anunoby, among others, is huge. Not only is it a great accomplishment for his young career, but it is well deserved.

Some would even argue that Adebayo should have a Defensive Player of the Year award by now. Which, is a very valid statement to make considering the advanced stats (via the Miami Heat). He is ranked in the top 5 of several different defensive coverages categories for the season.

Ranked 5th in drop coverages, 2nd in one-on-one coverages, 1st in blitz coverages, and 5th in show coverages.

Adebayo is a center that all of Heat Nation knows is extremely versatile. There is not a single position on the court that this man cannot defend at an elite level. He spends 43.5% of the time guarding centers, but also 32.2% on guards and 24.1% on forwards.

It doesn’t matter if he gets screened on and forced to switch on smaller or bigger guys than him, he will hold his own and always make the opponent work. No matter what position they may be.

He’s had over 607 switches as a screen defender during this season, ranking him number 2 in the NBA in that category.

Adebayo is a zone defense anchor. He’s had over 808 possessions played in zone and allows just 1.07 points per possession, ranking him as number 1 in Half-Court zone defense.

He is just as good at defending the dribble handoff too. The big man averages 0.94 points allowed per handoffs. That ranks number 7 in the league among players with at least 300+ defended.

Adebayo is also very active in blocks, rebounds and steals as a very mobile center. With averages per game of 0.8 blocks, 1.2 steals, and 6.7 defensive rebounds this season.

Miami has gotten very blessed to have a talented young big on this roster who can simply just do it all. There is not a single thing he cannot do defensively, making him arguably the most versatile in the entire NBA. Fans have seen him put clamps on not just other bigs who play the same position, but elite guards like Kyrie Irving, Jrue Holiday, Jalen Brunson, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Marcus Smart, and plenty more.

More recently, in the first round of this year’s NBA playoffs, Adebayo showed a heck of an effort guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Adebayo has gotten some backlash from the fan base by not being “aggressive” enough offensively. The thing with Adebayo’s game is that he does not need to drop 20-30 points to make a serious impact on the floor. He very much does have that offensive talent, and it was shown as he landed his 2nd NBA All-Star appearance this year and averaged a career high 20.4 ppg. However, when the shot isn’t falling or he isn’t getting enough open looks, he still finds ways to help the team get wins.

In the Play-In game against the Chicago Bulls, he was a bit quiet offensively but tallied 17 rebounds for the team.

He has had several double doubles throughout this playoff run. Besides just the outstanding rebounding capabilities that he always brings, he is an athletic and big body to have on the court defensively. He will get into the passing lanes, bring amazing one-on-one defense, can switch onto any position, and always be able to step in front of a defender and block a shot.

He has even had some crazy chase down blocks as well.

Bam Adebayo is a joy to watch night in and night out, and at age 25 has just entered his prime. It shouldn’t surprise anybody if at some point in the next few years that not only he secures a spot in the All-NBA defensive first time rather than second, but also be a legit candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year.

He has already made a run with that award a few times in his early career, and it is just a matter of time before he snags the hardware all for himself.