Heat’s Bam Adebayo ‘going to be a force to reckon with in this league’

The Miami Heat veterans’ praise of rookie forward/center Bam Adebayo has been eye-opening.

“That guy Bam has a chance to be something really special,” Heat guard Tyler Johnson said. “You watch him at Kentucky, I thought he was a Dwight Howard, big bodied, couldn’t really move.

“You put him on the perimeter and he can guard one through five. You would not expect a guy that big and with such broad shoulders to be able to have the touch he has. But he has nice touch. I’m telling you, he’s going to be special.”

Johnson sees similarities between Adebayo and former NBA star Chris Webber.

Adebayo likes Kevin Garnett as a comparison.

Heat guard Wayne Ellington put it this way: “He’s going to be a force to reckon with in this league for a long time. He’s going to be the steal of the draft. Bam as a young guy, his work ethic is so impressive to me. We all know about his athleticism and the way he flies. But he also can shoot pretty well. His jumper has been pretty consistent. He’s getting back to the three point line. and he knows them down and and does it pretty consistently.”

Adebayo said he’s ideal for this organization’s culture. “I feel like I’m a Heat guy. I fight, I scratch, I play hard.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 11:07 PM with the headline "Heat’s Bam Adebayo ‘going to be a force to reckon with in this league’."