MIAMI — Arguably no moment better exemplifies the recent fall of the Miami Heat than this: Thursday, when the NBA named its Players of the Month for March, Bam Adebayo was not even a nominee.
As in the Heat center who scored 83 points on March 10 against the Washington Wizards, the second-highest total in NBA history only to Wilt Chamberlain’s mythical 100.
While Adebayo was named NBA East Player of the Week in the days after his scoring binge, the league reserves its weekly and monthly awards for players on teams with superior records.
The Heat went 8-7 in March, a month that included a closing run of seven losses in eight games.
By contrast, when Kobe Bryant scored 81 points on Jan. 22, 2006, the late Los Angeles Lakers guard was named NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for January 2006.
March’s NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month went to Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, who averaged 22.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.5 assists in March in helping fuel his team’s dramatic rise up the East standings.
Adebayo in March, even with his 83-point game, averaged 25.9 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Other nominees for East Player of the Month beyond Johnson were Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, Orlando’s Desmond Bane, Boston’s Jaylen Brown, New York’s Jalen Brunson, New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Cleveland’s James Harden.
Luka Doncic, who scored 60 points against the Heat in the Lakers’ March 19 visit to Kaseya Center, was named NBA Western Conference Player of the Month.
The Heat’s first game against the Wizards since Adebayo’s outburst is Saturday at Kaseya Center.
Unlike when the Heat were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak the last time the teams met, the Heat now again have effectively been relegated to the play-in tournament.
Asked how the Heat will handle such a challenge, Adebayo said after Wednesday night’s 147-129 loss to the Boston Celtics, “We’ll figure it out in two weeks,” with the play-in round opening April 14.
For all of the Heat’s recent struggles, including losses in eight of their last 10, Adebayo has remained productive, including 29 points and 10 rebounds in the nationally televised loss to the Celtics, his team-leading 32nd double-double of the season.
The Heat captain now has recorded double-doubles in five consecutive games, one shy of the career-longest streak he last achieved in January 2024.
With two steals in the loss to the Celtics, Adebayo moved to 79 for the season. With his next steal, he will join Dwyane Wade, Grant Long and Glen Rice as the fourth player in the franchise’s 38 seasons with at least 80 steals in at least five consecutive seasons. Wade holds the franchise record of 10 consecutive such seasons, from 2004 to 2013.
Scholar honors
During halftime of Saturday’s game against the Wizards, the Heat will be announcing the 2026 Heat Scholarship winners.
Presented by the Miami Heat Charitable Fund, $50,000 in scholarship funds will be awarded to high school seniors from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.
Scholarships include three $10,000 Heat Scholarships, one $10,000 Dr. Jack Ramsay Scholarship, and one $10,000 Alec Kessler Student-Athlete Scholarship. The late Ramsay was a long-time Heat broadcast analyst, the late Kessler a former Heat center who went on to become a doctor.
In the program’s 30th year, Heat Scholarships are awarded based on academic performance, community service, and unmet financial need. In addition to their scholarships, each recipient will receive a personal laptop, courtesy of CDW & Dell Technologies.
Among those participating in the halftime event will be former Heat center Alonzo Mourning, the team’s Vice President of Player Programs.