For the fourth time this offseason, a member of the 2017 NBA Draft class has gotten paid. After the Sacramento Kings paid De’Aaron Fox, the Utah Jazz agreed to terms with Donovan Mitchell, and Jayson Tatum cashed in on his ascent to stardom with the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo reportedly received a rookie maximum contract.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Adebayo and the team agreed to a five-year extension worth $163 million that could potentially go as high as $195.6 million.
The Miami Heat plan to sign All-Star Bam Adebayo to a five-year, $163M contract extension, source tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 24, 2020
Adebayo is eligible for a rookie maximum contract — $163M with trigger for $195.6M — and Miami plans to sign him to the new deal, source says. https://t.co/4UCqLdLKLx
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 24, 2020
The No. 14 pick in the 2017 Draft and a one-time NBA All-Star, Adebayo has rapidly become one of the NBA’s most uniquely skilled big men. He showed flashes of potentially being a two-way nightmare during his first two seasons in the league, and during the 2019-20 campaign, Adebayo broke out, averaging 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.1 skills per game. His performance during the postseason in the NBA’s Orlando Bubble was even better, and he played a major role in the Heat’s surprising run to the Finals, although a shoulder and neck injury hampered him from being at 100 percent when he was on the floor against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Much of the discourse around the Heat has been about what they can achieve in the future, as they’re expected to try and go star hunting during the 2021 offseason. Before that, though, Pat Riley and co. wanted to make sure their 23-year-old big man is taken care of in Miami for the foreseeable future.
