Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo became the first Heat player this season to be named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Adebayo, who is coming off one of his best weeks of the season, averaged 27 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game over three games this week.
Adebayo entered the week coming off one of the worst shooting slumps of his career, but snapped out of it with 29 points on 11-15 shooting against the Phoenix Suns on January 13.
Following his most recent performance, a 30 point 12 rebound game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Adebayo made a statement against people criticizing his offensive ability.
“I don’t care about what anybody says about me offensively,” Adebayo said. “They’re gonna move the goal posts for me every night. I don’t shoot enough, I’m not being aggressive, shooting too much, it’s the wrong shot diet. So my teammates, my coaching staff, they know what I’m capable of. Obviously, every shot that I take, I work on all the time, and Spo (Spoelstra) knows that. Spo sees it.”
Adebayo became the first Heat player since Tyler Herro in December 2024 to be named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
It’s Adebayo’s third time winning the award. He was also named the POTW in January 2024 and December 2019.
The Miami Heat Succeed When Bam Adebayo is Dominant on Offense
Bam Adebayo is considered the heart and soul of this Miami Heat basketball team.
He’s the longest-tenured player on the roster, having been with the team since they drafted him in 2017. Adebayo is averaging his season low in points per game since the 2020-2021 season, but his impact still looms large.
Adebayo is third on the team in plus/minus with a +115 on the season. Additionally, the Heat win more games when he’s consistently scoring.
This season, the Heat are 12-7 when he scores more than 16 points in a game. His impact as a defender is important, but his impact on offense is what makes the difference between a win and a loss for the Heat.
Adebayo has been able to consistently score over the past three games, making 13 threes over a three-game stretch.
Like Heavy Sports's content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week appeared first on Heavy Sports.
