Bam Adebayo

Edrice Femi "Bam" Adebayo (born July 18, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Later that summer Adebayo competed at the NBPA Top 100 Camp and was named MVP at the 2015 Under Armour Elite 24 game.

After his junior season at Northside he transferred to High Point Christian Academy in High Point, North Carolina.

In his season debut, Adebayo scored 22 points and 17 rebounds in an 81–39 win over New Garden Friends School.

On December 29, he posted 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 91–63 victory over De'Aaron Fox and Cypress Lakes High School.

As a senior, Adebayo averaged 18.9 points per game, 13.0 rebounds per game, 1.4 blocks per game and 1.5 assist per game, and led the Cougars to a NCISAA state championship appearance.

On November 17, 2015, Adebayo committed to the University of Kentucky.

He joined fellow freshmen Malik Monk, De'Aaron Fox, and Wenyen Gabriel.

During the summer, Adebayo joined his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, Team Loaded North Carolina, alongside fellow five-star 2016 recruit Dennis Smith Jr.. He averaged 15.0 points and 10 rebounds per game on Adidas Uprising Circuit.

Adebayo was named 2016 North Carolina Mr. Basketball.

In January 2016, he played in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.

Adebayo was rated a five-star recruit and considered one of the best high school prospects of the 2016 class.

He was ranked the No. 5 overall recruit and No. 2 power forward in the 2016 high school class.

On December 7, 2016, Adebayo recorded 16 points and 7 rebounds in an 87–67 win against Valparaiso.

In 38 games for Kentucky in the 2016–17 season, Adebayo averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game and was named Second-team All-SEC as well to the SEC All-Freshman team.

He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before being selected by the Heat with the 14th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft.

On February 21, 2017, Adebayo scored 22 points and 15 rebounds to defeat Missouri in a 72–62 Victory.

As the number one seed entering the SEC tournament, Kentucky would defeat Georgia in the quarterfinals and beat Alabama in the semifinals.

On March 12, 2017, Adebayo grabbed nine rebounds to help the Wildcats defeat Arkansas 82–65 and win the SEC Championship.

On March 17, in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Adebayo had 18 rebounds in a 79–70 victory against Northern Kentucky.

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Adebayo recorded 10 rebounds to help Kentucky defeat Wichita State.

On March 24, Kentucky defeated UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen, Adebayo had 12 rebounds in the game.

On March 26, Adebayo scored 13 points and seven rebounds in a 75–73 loss in the Elite Eight against North Carolina.

After the loss in the Elite Eight, he declared his entry into the 2017 NBA draft on April 5, with him signing an agent 20 days later.

On June 22, 2017, Adebayo was selected with the 14th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Miami Heat.

On July 1, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Heat, and joined the team for the 2017 NBA Summer League.

In his rookie season, Adebayo appeared in 69 games for the Heat and averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

On November 25, 2018, Adebayo had a career-high 21 rebounds and 16 points in a 125–115 loss against the Toronto Raptors.

On December 7, Adebayo recorded 22 points and 10 rebounds in a 115–98 win over the Phoenix Suns.

On December 28, he scored 18 points in a 118–94 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Adebayo played all 82 games, averaging 8.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

He is a three-time NBA All-Star, a four-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team honoree, and he helped the Heat reach the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023.

He also won a gold medal on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo.

Adebayo was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Nigerian Yoruba father and an African-American mother.

As a child, he was given the nickname "Bam Bam" by his mother when, while watching The Flintstones at age one, he flipped over a coffee table in a manner similar to the show's character Bamm-Bamm Rubble.

Adebayo moved with his mother to North Carolina when he was seven years old.

He did not have many further interactions with his father who died in Nigeria in 2020.

Adebayo grew up resenting his last name and Nigerian heritage due to the distance of his father.

He started to learn more about his Nigerian background at the age of 16 and has since embraced his heritage.

Adebayo attended Northside High School in Pinetown, North Carolina, where, as a junior, he averaged 32.2 points and 21 rebounds a game.