Spurned in 2019, Miami’s Bam Adebayo ready to play for USA

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo may be on the American national team.

But let’s make one thing clear: he remembers when he wasn’t. When he was cut in 2019 before the FIBA Basketball World Cup — mere months before his breakout NBA season of 2019-20.

“It was just a chip. I’ve always excelled when I’ve had a chip or if I had something motivating me,” he said via video conference. “I’m glad I got this opportunity now. It’s time to show why I got this opportunity.”

Adebayo and the Americans began training camp Tuesday at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center in preparation for the Summer Olympics later this month in Tokyo. The 23-year-old will likely log extensive minutes in international play as the team’s only true center, meaning he’ll have plenty of chances to prove worthy of this opportunity.

He reaffirmed Tuesday that he believes he should have made USA Basketball’s 2019 team. The one that limped to a seventh-place finish in China and lacked a big man of his caliber.

But that’s history, and he wants to make history by propelling this year’s group to a gold medal.

Adebayo was all of 21 during World Cup training camp and was still finding his footing in the NBA. He was a late addition and early departure, joining the pool of players on Aug. 1 and leaving Aug. 9 after an intrasquad scrimmage.

He went on to become an All-Star with the Heat in 2019-20, logging 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals while propelling Miami to the NBA Finals.

Last season USA head coach Gregg Poppovich publicly lamented the decision to dismiss Adebayo, revealing to reporters that he’d “shaken my head several times. That’s not the guy that we saw during the tryout. Maybe that was my fault. Maybe I should have done it differently so his skills could come out.”

Poppovich didn’t speak particularly about Adebayo on Tuesday, but Olympic teammate and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love did, revealing that he has one of Adebayo’s jerseys in his locker.

“I love how he plays,” Love said. “I love what he’s about. His story, where he came from and how great he’s done in this league in a short period of time.”

To Love’s point, Adebayo with Miami has blossomed into one of the best bigs in basketball. He’s a reliable rim protector with fluid feet who can cover wings on the perimeter. On offense, he thrives at the elbows as a secondary creator in dribble handoff actions. He’s also deft with his dribble at 6 feet, 9 inches, and has a shooting range out to 18 feet.

The Americans are rife with scorers, a la Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum, meaning Adebayo likely won’t be counted on for his offense like he is in Miami.

But that’s fine with him. So long as he’s here.

“I don’t know what type of role I’ll be in yet,” said Adebayo, who averaged 18.7 points and 5.4 assists in 2021, both career highs. “We’ll figure it out, and I’ll go from there.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.