Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo plan to make each other better — starting in practice

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo have spent years trying to make life difficult for each other on the court. Now that they’re teammates on the Miami Heat, neither seems particularly interested in letting the other off the hook.

Their matchups will move to the practice floor, where both believe that same competition can bring out the best in their games.

“If I guard Bam every single day at practice, I think when he goes out there and plays against anybody in the league, it won’t be much harder,” Antetokounmpo said.

He expects the benefits to go both ways, explaining that facing Adebayo’s defense every day should better prepare him for opposing teams.

For Adebayo, that process creates a standard they can carry into games.

“I feel like that’s what great players do. They push each other, to make each other better,” Adebayo said. “So then when you get in the game, there’s no questions asked. And it’s an expectation to it.”

Antetokounmpo already knows how demanding those matchups can be. Asked later about getting to know his new teammates, he joked that his usual eight hours of sleep weren’t enough when preparing to face Adebayo.

“When I play him, I got to get like 10 to 12 hours,” he said.

That respect extends to the consistency of Adebayo’s effort. Antetokounmpo pointed out that the competitiveness he experienced firsthand also shows up when he watches Bam play against other teams.

“I’ve played against him for many years and everybody knows how competitive he is. He never takes days off,” Giannis said. “I know he doesn’t take days off against me.”

“It’s like fire building fire,” he continued. “Once we’re around one another, we both want to elevate each other’s game.”

Setting the tone for Miami’s defense

The challenge for the Heat is turning that individual competitiveness into something the entire roster embraces. Giannis sees their responsibility as going beyond what they say to teammates.

“We have to keep on pushing one another,” he said. “We got to keep on pushing the team, our teammates, but not just by talking, by setting the example.”

According to Adebayo, the defensive end has already brought out that intensity during pickup games.

“That’s when you hear all the shit-talking,” Adebayo said. “That’s when you hear all the competitive energy start to go up. It’s because of the defensive end.”

Miami’s frontcourt pairing gives the team plenty of possibilities, but both players pointed to the importance of having defenders throughout the lineup who can handle their assignments.

“We talk, we communicate. Everybody can guard their yard, and that’s one through five,” Adebayo said.

Antetokounmpo illustrated the point by running through a hypothetical lineup before asking a simple question:

“Where’s the mismatch?”

“I might be the mismatch,” he added. “That’s the crazy part.”

The Heat will still have to turn that confidence into results. For now, their two stars see the daily work against each other as an opportunity to establish the habits and expectations they want everyone else to follow.

As Antetokounmpo put it: “We want to make the whole team better.”

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