Trading away Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors should have been the ultimate death sentence. The player who most believed had carried the roster to two NBA Finals trips in four years, being moved felt like an egregious choice by the Miami Heat.
And with the way the 2024-25 season ended, it gave even more credence to the Butler side of the argument. This year, though, tells a different story. As the team remains in the thick of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference, their superstar, Bam Adebayo, is spelling out his expectations for the roster.
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Bam Adebayo Isn’t Willing to Budge an Inch
Andrew Wiggins looked like a shell of himself in his final year and a half with the Warriors, while the rest of the Miami roster looked closer to a lottery team than a playoff contender.
However, the start of the season has altered the perception of the team. Erik Spoelstra has re-inserted himself into the conversation of the best coach in the league, as the team has gone 14-11 for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, which comes after a recent four-game skid with the roster battling injuries.
Still, Adebayo has maintained his consistency as a defender while becoming a focal point of the offense. While his numbers are relatively on par with the rest of his career at 19.2 points and 8.9 rebounds, his impact has stretched beyond the numbers.
A willingness to shoot the 3-pointer, as he’s averaging a career-high 4.9 attempts per game, has opened up the game for the entire Miami offense. And he believes it is a recipe that can take them deep in the playoffs.
Speaking to Andscape, the three-time All-Star explained, “People are going to call us crazy, but I think we’re a contender. We’re going to be called delusional. But how I look at delusion is if you ask how many people could be NBA players, what is the percentage of that?”
Extrapolating on that, a clearly passionate Adebayo added, “So, you’ve got to have a little bit of delusion when it comes to speaking stuff into existence. Like I always say, ‘Speak stuff into existence that matters.’ Manifest things that matter. Being able to just dream about that, write it down, and keep looking at that. That goes a long way.”
While he made one caveat about the team needing to be healthy to play like contenders consistently, it’s clear that Adebayo doesn’t see the Heat as being lesser than any of the other teams in the East.