(Mandatory credit: Getty Images)
Bam Adebayo has quietly put together a Hall of Fame resume during his nine-year NBA career with the Miami Heat.
As the 14th overall pick back in the 2017 draft, Adebayo has exceeded expectations. And he is far from done, as he just enters his prime years at 28 years old.
He is a three-time All-Star, five-time All-Defensive member, a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and a two-time NBA Finalist with Miami’s Finals runs in 2020 and 2023, respectively. Of course, he also broke the internet this past season with his historic 83-point performance in a win versus the Washington Wizards— a figure that is good for sole possession of the second-highest scoring outing in NBA history. Adebayo is also nearly just 30 rebounds away from officially becoming the Heat’s all-time franchise rebounding leader.
As the captain of the team, Adebayo displays leadership both on and off the court. His play as an uber versatile two-way big that can switch 1-5 defensively has made him build a reputation of one of the best centers in the league. But where does he really rank amongst the league’s top bigs?
According to Adebayo himself, he is number two.
Bam Adebayo was asked to rank Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Joel Embiid, and himself from best to worst🍿
1. Nikola Jokic
2. Bam Adebayo
3. Joel Embiid
4. Victor Wembanyama
Director: “Bam, why didn’t you rank yourself 1st?”
Bam: “I’m a humble guy”
(via @firstwefeast) pic.twitter.com/RHFQaUqaGm
— The HEAT Realm (@WadexFlash) April 17, 2026
You have to respect the confidence from the Heat star, and although he isn’t far off at all with his self proclaimed ranking— it may not be exactly that.
Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is miles ahead of any big in the association. That is no debate. But from there on, it gets a bit debatable.
On paper, San Antonio Spurs’ sensation Victor Wembanyama is almost certainly the second-best behind Jokic. He is already shaping up to be a generational superstar talent, and it didn’t take long since his rookie season for him to lead his Spurs to contention, either. San Antonio is just games away from reaching the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2014 in just his third campaign at 22 years old. If Wemby can stay healthy, he has potential to go down as an all-time great.
As much as Heat fans value everything that Adebayo brings to the table, he’s not on that level.
However, as mentioned, he wasn’t that far off. Adebayo is arguably the better all around player than Joel Embiid at this point of both their careers. Unlike Embiid, Adebayo has appeared in more than 70 games each of the last four seasons. Off the fact of availability being the best ability alone— not even including the defensive impact— Adebayo has proven to be significantly more consistent and reliable than Embiid in recent years amongst big man ranks.
Where would you put place Bam on your current top big men list? Let us know in the comments!
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