Bam Adebayo on Tyler Herro: ‘He deserves that All-Star nod’

Adebayo became a full-time starter during the 2019-20 season. Since then, Miami has two NBA Finals appearances and sports the NBA’s seventh-best win percentage in that time (.581). The 27-year-old Adebayo, who was drafted 13th in 2017, is the only player in the NBA to finish top five in Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of the last five seasons. “He’s much different,” Spoelstra said about Adebayo’s comfort as a team leader. “He’s gotten more comfortable. And he’s accepted the responsibilities that are given as a leader … as any face of the franchise, as the captain. And he knows he can’t do it just by his actions. He also has to used his voice more. And that’ll continue to get better. You have to do things within your personality. He’s not going to lead in the same way as U.D. [Udonis Haslem], and that’s totally fine. Everybody in the locker room respects him and responds to him. I love seeing the growth that he’s made. He’s in probably, what, his eighth season already? It’s going by so fast. Each year, he develops more, and he makes more of an impact.” -via New York Times / November 5, 2024