This past season, Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo finished third in the voting for the Defensive Player of the Year. This was his best finish thus far after being voted fifth the previous season and fourth in 2021 and 2022.
At this point, the three-time All-Star is tired of being overlooked.
Miami Heat News: Bam Adebayo Still Salty About DPOY Snub
In a recent interview, Adebayo shared his brutally honest thoughts on repeatedly losing out on the Defensive Player of the Year title. In his mind, the 26-year-old is adamant that other players just don’t adhere to the same standards he is subjected to:
“That’s one thing that irks me, it’s not my fault I’m versatile,” Adebayo said, via Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “I’ve been top five in DPOY voting the last five years, there’s been guys y’all (media) been giving it to over me.
“… A point guard (Marcus Smart) got it over me, a center (Rudy Gobert) got it over me, a power forward (Jaren Jackson Jr.) has gotten it over me. The goalposts move for me, in certain degrees. It’s me and a lot of undrafted dudes, and we still have a top-five defense.
“These other guys have All-NBA dudes (around them). Some of it is, they don’t really care about us and that’s fine. I think they should pay attention to consistency because being top five DPOY, I think I have the longest streak of All-Defensive teams, so the goalposts move for me.”
To say that Adebayo is still salty about his most recent DPOY snub this past season would be an understatement.
At this point, however, Adebayo has no other choice but to do it all over again this coming season. He’s pretty much done everything he can to rise above as the best defender in the league, but time and time again, his effort has been overlooked.
Will 2025 finally be Adebayo’s year?
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