Heat's Spoelstra Calls out NBA GM Survey After Bam Adebayo Best Defensive Player Snub
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra took issue Tuesday with All-Star center Bam Adebayo not receiving a single vote for best defensive player in the annual NBA general manager poll.
The poll, which was conducted by NBA.com's John Schuhmann, asked all 30 GMs a series of questions, and the only restriction was that they could not vote for anyone involved with their own team.
On the subject of best defensive player, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo garnered 40 percent of the vote, followed by Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday at 13 percent, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Memphis Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart at 10 percent, and Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard at 7 percent.
Several players were listed in the "also receiving votes" section as well, but Adebayo was not among them.
When asked by Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald to discuss the fact that he was voted the NBA's best head coach, motivator and defensive schemer, Spoelstra instead took the opportunity to talk about Adebayo's snub:
"That one is just unbelievable to me. I think Bam is the best defensive player in the league and I just can't understand why he's not recognized for how impactful he is on that end of the court. So he's just going to have to prove it again and just do it this year until everybody notices.
"I think that's a good award to go for. A lot of awards I think can potentially get in the way of winning. I think that one is a great one and I don't think he's going to take himself out of anything. I think he just has to be who he is, do what he does and just be that dynamic force on that end of the court. Then I think he's going to get recognized for that and hopefully we'll have a great defense this year and he leads us on that end of the court."
The 26-year-old Adebayo was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft out of Kentucky, and he has unquestionably lived up to his billing.
In addition to being a two-time All-Star, Adebayo has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in each of the past four seasons.
Adebayo has also finished fifth or better in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of the last four campaigns.
Over his six NBA seasons, Adebayo owns averages of 14,7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. That included putting up 20,4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per contest last season.
Perhaps most importantly, Adebayo was the defensive anchor for a team that was second in the NBA in points allowed (109.8 per game) and went all the way to the NBA Finals as a result.
While Adebayo may not have received the respect he deserved in the GM poll, he has been a fixture in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting, and he figures to be very much in the mix for the award again during the 2023-24 season.
