Miami Heat assistant coach Caron Butler recently voiced out his thoughts on Bam Adebayo not yet winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. For five seasons in a row, Adebayo has been among the top five candidates contending for the DPOY award. While that feat alone is a clear indication of how impeccable he is on defense, he is yet to win the award.
Heat assistant coach Butler feels like it's a crime that Adebayo hasn't won the award yet. The assistant coach praised the big man for the solid defense he provides for his team. He recognized that opposing players have a difficult time going up against Bam and tend to use up more energy to get past him.
“When you talk about versatility, when you talk about two-way defender, I mean it's a crime that [Bam Adebayo] hasn't won Defensive Player of the Year,” Butler said on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
Is Bam Adebayo a deserving DPOY winner?
Ever since he stepped up in the 2019-20 NBA season, Bam Adebayo made a reputation for himself to be one of the best defenders in the league. During that year, which was his third season in the league, Adebayo averaged a career-high 1.3 blocks per game. His efforts on the hardwood earned him the right to be named an All-Star for the first time in his career and made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Bam also ranked fifth among the Defensive Player of the Year award contenders.
From that point forward, Adebayo has consistently been among the top five DPOY award candidates. He even remained an NBA All-Defensive player making it to the Second Team on three more occasions and recently making the First Team last season. Unfortunately, Bam is yet to win the DPOY award. The closest he's ever been to winning the award was last season when he ranked third among the DPOY leaders.
The question now is, does Adebayo deserve to win the award? Comparing his defensive numbers to previous winners, we could argue that Bam is a worthy contender. But it obviously isn't enough for him to win. Last season, Rudy Gobert won his fourth DPOY award in his career averaging 2.1 blocks and 9.2 defensive rebounds per game. Looking at Adebayo's numbers last season, he averaged 1.1 steals and 8.1 defensive rebounds. The numbers alone clearly indicate that Gobert did a better job on defense compared to Adebayo.
While we aren't discounting the fact that Adebayo is a solid defender, it's sad to say that the NBA and fans alike tend to rely more on the numbers produced rather than the effort one player puts in. To answer the question regarding Bam's deserving of the DPOY award, yes he is. However, he needs to produce the numbers to win over the league and the fans in voting.
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