Bam Adebayo Made History by Becoming the First Miami Heat Player to Earn a Spot on an All-Defensive Team Five Times

History was made on Tuesday when Bam Adebayo was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Adebayo became the first player from the Miami Heat to be selected five times to the All-Defensive Team. It was also his first selection to the All-Defensive First Team since the previous format of the league was replaced this season with a positionless league.

In response to his most recent achievement, Adebayo said in an interview with The Miami Herald that he should have been selected to the first team in prior seasons. This year, he was a finalist behind Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert.

“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.

Throughout his career, Bam Adebayo has been selected to the All-Defensive Second Team four times, from 2020 to 2023. Adebayo has also consistently placed among the top five candidates for Defensive Player of the Year for the past five years. This season, he was a finalist for the first time.

At the beginning of the season, Adebayo aimed at the voters, believing he should have taken home at least one Defensive Player of the Year trophy in the previous several years. He thought that some people were only focusing on statistics and weren’t following the action to understand how his defense impacted the result of the match:

Bam Adebayo Eyes to Become Defensive Player of the Year

Adebayo told Playmaker HQ the previous summer that he wanted to win Defensive Player of the Year. After missing out on the trophy the last several years and the NBA title the previous season, this was one of his driving forces this 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 is currently, without a doubt, one of the league’s greatest defenders, but he isn’t winning DPOY. He can anchor the defense, guard the rim and paint, and even assist the other defender. Because of his versatility, he could likely guard all five spots if necessary.