What makes Bam Adebayo so special?

It’s a popular refrain in professional basketball to say that the age of the big man is over. Sure enough, the game has changed. Gone are the days when big-bodied centers like Shaquille O’Neal and Patrick Ewing controlled the flow of NBA offenses. But as the past two NBA Playoffs have shown us, it’s not quite so simple as that. Big men can still run the show — it just looks a little different now.

Saturday night, Bam Adebayo was the most dominant player on the floor in Miami’s thrilling Game 3 victory over Boston. The burly UK product exerted his influence all over the court, making plays in transition, on the block, and everywhere in between; he finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Nights like this are not unheard of for Adebayo, who has rapidly developed into the best small-ball center in the game. Still, it bears repeating: this is not your grandad’s big man. In a league where everyone’s searching for the answer to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Big Bam provides the blueprint.

So what makes him so special?

Right Place, Right Time

In 2017, Kentucky became the eighth team ever to have three players selected in the NBA draft lottery (joining ’91 UNLV, ’99 Duke, ’05 UNC, ’07 Florida, ’10 Kentucky, ’12 UNC, and ’15 Kentucky). Of those three players, Adebayo was the lowest selection, coming in with the 14th and last pick of the lottery (De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk went 5th and 11th, respectively).

Here’s a fun fact: not only has Adebayo become the best NBA player of the group, but his win shares and VORP (value over replacement player) rate the best of anyone in the 2017 draft — including the likes of Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell.

He owes much of his success to the culture and playstyle in Miami. He spent his first two seasons backing up Hassan Whiteside, a classic shot-blocking seven-footer who played rooted in the paint. After missing the postseason in 2019, the Heat traded Whiteside, freeing up Bam to do his thing — and he rewarded their faith with an All-Star campaign.

But as The Ringer‘s Jonathan Tjarks detailed in this article the last time Miami locked horns with Boston, the other shoe was yet to drop. The 2020 Playoffs — when Miami made its improbable run to the Finals as a fifth-seed — was the first time they started playing the 6’9″ Adebayo exclusively at the five. It worked.

“Going small-ball” has become something of a cliché in recent years, but for a player like Adebayo, it was exactly what he needed to unlock his potential. And since then, he’s only gotten better.

More than a Giannis-Stopper

The thing that has always set Adebayo apart from his post peers is his mobility. Like Antetokounmpo, he possesses the unique ability to guard at all three levels and finish with ferocity on both sides. His offensive versatility isn’t that of the Greek Freak’s, but it’s coming along — and frankly, anything you get from him in that department is gravy.

A few weeks ago, another Ringer columnist, Zach Kram, wrote about the NBA’s obsession with “finding the next Giannis.” He identified Adebayo as the perfect example for the other side of this trend: the Giannis-stopper. With mobile, athletic big men becoming more and more common, a greater value has also been placed on the type of defenders who can slow them down; and the numbers say nobody does it better than Bam.

Boston’s Al Horford is another example, as his past two contracts have both been predicated on his perceived talent for matching up with the two-time MVP. And sure enough, the 35-year-old Horford did just that in the conference semis, sending the defending champions home in seven games. But Adebayo can do things Horford just can’t. Case in point, from Game 1:

Bam Adebayo's defense on this possession is spectacular pic.twitter.com/UrKzItlT99

— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) May 18, 2022

Not only can he keep up with lanky behemoths like Giannis, but Adebayo can also guard just about anyone on the perimeter. In the post, he ranked second among centers this year behind only Rudy Gobert in defensive win shares — despite having a 25% lower block rate (and eight fewer inches in wingspan). And against the Sixers last round, he was able to contain (an admittedly hobbled) Joel Embiid to a full 10 points under his scoring average.

In just five years, Adebayo has joined the elite group to whom second-team All-Defense honors feel vaguely like an insult.

A Touch Above

At his offensive best, Adebayo possesses a deft touch in the paint and just enough mid-range ability to keep defenders vulnerable to quick decisions on the drive. On Saturday, he was doing things like this:

Look what Bam did in the first quarter… pic.twitter.com/JEBs7bHc8n

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) May 22, 2022

Back in 2020, Tjarks predicted that the only thing missing for a player like Adebayo — who could already defend and pass like a guard — is figuring out how to score like one. Abusing slow-footed centers is one thing; “they will eventually have to start beating players who play like them,” he wrote.

The present series with the Celtics is the perfect opportunity for Bam to showcase what he’s learned. In their 2020 matchup, Adebayo feasted to the tune of 21.8 PPG, 11.0 rebounds and 61% shooting against a Boston frontcourt that featured Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter Freedom. This time around, Boston boasts two of the best interior defenders in the game with Horford and Robert Williams.

In Game 3, Adebayo shot 15-22 from the field, including 6-7 when guarded by Al “Giannis-stopper” Horford. That’s a winning recipe most nights, but can he replicate it?

Such is the question ahead of Monday night’s critical Game 4. The best version of Bam Adebayo is a championship-caliber player — and the Heat will need just that to advance.