"Long time coming" - Bam Adebayo reveals candid reaction amid All-Defensive 1st Team selection and making Heat history
Bam Adebayo made history when he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team on Tuesday. He became the first Miami Heat player to get named to an All-Defensive Team five times. It was also his first All-Defensive First Team nod since the league went positionless this season rather than the old format.
In an interview with The Miami Herald, Adebayo reacted to his most recent accolade and said that he should have had a first-team selection in previous seasons. He was a finalist in this year's voting, behind Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama.
"I feel like this is a long time coming. But just staying in this moment, enjoying it. I'm blessed to be one of the ones selected," Adebayo said.
Bam Adebayo has been named to the All-Defensive Second Team four times, from 2020 to 2023. He has also finished in the top-five of the Defensive Player of the Year ballots for five straight years and was a finalist for the first time this season.
Adebayo called out voters at the start of the season because he felt that he should have won at least one Defensive Player of the Year award in the past few years. He felt that some voters were just looking at stats and not watching the game to see how his defense affected the outcome of contests:
"Obviously, we have a lot of people who are stat watchers. They don't really watch the game, stat watchers. Go straight to the stat column, 'Oh well, he had this much,' not knowing he gave up 40 in the paint depending who it is," Adebayo said.
Bam Adebayo's goal is to win Defensive Player of the Year
In an interview with Playmaker HQ last offseason, Adebayo expressed his desire to take home the Defensive Player of the Year. It was one of his motivations this season after falling short in the past few years and on the NBA championship last season:
"Everybody always looks at the last column, which is how many points did he score in the game? And people forget that other side of the court exists because of the entertainment business.
"So, for me, it's just that will, that passion, that mentality. ... I want to get Defensive Player of the Year, just so I can have the award," Adebayo said.
Bam Adebayo is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the league already, but he's missing the DPOY. He can guard the paint and the perimeter, anchor the defense, protect the rim and even be a help defender. He's versatile and can probably guard all five positions if he wants to.