Heat's Bam Adebayo Says He's Trying to Change Basketball After New Contract

Miami Heat forward/center Bam Adebayo has placed some lofty expectations on his career—raising the bar higher than the five-year max extension he signed in the offseason would suggest.

"I feel like I'm trying to change basketball," Adebayo told reporters Friday. "Being a center, being able to play both sides of the ball and being able to pass as well as I can, that's a difference-maker on a team, especially at the center spot, so it's respect at all levels."

Adebayo's ascent was one of the most entertaining storylines last season, as he went from averaging 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 2018-19 to 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game last season, just his third in the league. 

Yet there's no question Adebayo can still take his game to another level. He'll have to if he hopes to change the game.

Last season marked the first time the Kentucky product made the All-Star Game, and he finished the campaign as a second-team All-Defensive selection. A surprise victory during the Skills Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend in February proved he has the tools to excel in every area on the court, but Adebayo is looking to the future.

"I definitely want to be, long time down the road when my career ends, whenever somebody mentions a top-five center or top-five power forward, they always got to mention my name," Adebayo said. "That's how I want to be remembered. Keep changing basketball."

Still just 23 years old, Adebayo likely hasn't reached his prime—a boon for a Miami team that just made the NBA Finals.

The Heat's postseason run established the forward as a legitimate pairing with Jimmy Butler and someone worth building around. Locking him into a five-year extension this offseason was the first step in that process.

Letting Bam be Bam will be the next.

Adebayo said Friday:

"An organization believes in me to where I'm worth [up to $200 million]. So when you put it in that form, responsibility really kicks in and it really hits home. Now it's my time to figure out how we can win, how we can get to that level—where we can raise that trophy. That's my goal. That's the responsibility that I have, and I'm going to figure that out one way or another."