After missing the tally last year, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo returned to the All-Defensive team, earning second-team honors for the fifth time, the league announced Friday.
On the second team, he was joined by New York’s OG Anunoby, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels and Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace.
Adebayo earned the eighth-most votes among all players. He had 10 first team votes and 51 second-team. The only All-Defense player with fewer first-team votes was Daniels.
This marks the sixth-ever time that Adebayo has made an All-Defensive team. Keep in mind that he’s only spent seven years as a full-time starter, so achieving this feat is obviously very impressive. He’s still missing the Defensive Player of the Year award. But that might be Victor Wembanyama’s to lose until further notice. The 7-foot-4 French big was chosen unanimously for Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-Defense.
Not to the fault of Adebayo, but the Heat’s defense nosedived over the final month of the season. They finished No. 13 in Dunks & Threes’ adjusted defensive rating. Still, the 6-foot-9 big tallied two stocks per 75 possessions. And Adebayo finished in the 89th percentile in on-off differential in non-garbage-time DRTG.
That matches the eye test — he’s the team’s most impactful defender by a mile, given his scheme versatility and wherewithal whenever he’s on the floor.
I think Adebayo gets even more recognition if Miami’s defense doesn’t completely fall off the face of the earth. But alas, here’s to hoping that the front office can build a more competent defense around him next year to ease some of the burden he consistently shoulders.
***
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Check out Hot Hot Hoops on Facebook here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
- Insider claims Giannis Antetokounmpo is ‘focused’ on joining Heat
- Why Heat should target this 2026 NBA Champion in free agency
- Miami Heat’s best move in the 2026 NBA draft is painfully obvious
- Why evaluators are split on Heat’s ‘momentum’ for Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Why the inclusion of this young guard could decide Heat’s fate for Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Heat are intensifying workouts for first-round prospects as draft nears
- 2026 NBA Draft Tracker: Who do Heat plan to work out?
That 2nd team frontcourt of OG, Barnes, Bam would be awesome to watch
Another way of summarizing Bam’s impact – Heat were a top 10 defense and elite defensive rebounding team with Bam, a bad defense and among league worst rebounding team without him
https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIA/2026/on-off/
Heat had a defensive rating of 113.4 with Bam playing, the #8 defense in his minutes
Without Bam the defense dropped to 117.2 (#20)
Rebounding – Heat had a 77.7% DRB% with Bam playing (#1). Heat with Bam were only one point below Spurs with Wembanyama, 78.7%. (Spurs were #1 for the year at 77.3%, Heat #8 at 74.9%)
Without Bam the Heat DREB% dropped to 70.9% (#29)
maybe but if hes your first or second player u aint winning jewelry
Not a maybe but a fact. Heat had a top 10 defense when Bam played, the #20 defense when he didn’t, as a result finished #13, a league average defense.
They also had a very good offense in his minutes (119.8), a bad one (114.1) when he was on the bench, finishing #13 overall, an average offense.
Heat were the #3 offense, #8 defense (top 10 in both is the definition of a contender) in Bam’s minutes, the #22 offense, #20 defense with him not playing.
Upgrade the rotation and there would not be such a dramatic decline – elite/above average team on both sides of the ball to below average on both, and league worst def rebounding – when Bam goes out of the game, they would not have finished as an average team on both sides of the ball and would have won more games.
Congratulations Bam on your selection to second team all defense and for winning the NBA’s Social Justice Champion award!
didnt see first team im guessing wemby ausaur thompson rudy gobert (always on there) antman tyler herro?
chet derek white ok scratch herro..versus wemby shteins been better than chet.shtein might be the most underrated player in nba.love his game.all about the team and that push shot is auto..if pat could have plucked him away from nyk we might be playing nyk now