Bam Adebayo has been a member of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for four consecutive seasons, so it's safe to say it's relatively common knowledge that he's a good defender. According to Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, however, he's still not regarded highly enough.

Speaking after the Heat lost the NBA Finals, Spoelstra praised his big man on the back of his performance against the Denver Nuggets.

“He’s arguably been the best defender in the league now for a handful of years,” Spoelstra said. “He doesn’t necessarily get acknowledged for that because he’s not putting up the big shot blocking numbers or whatever metrics they look at.”

It's high praise from the man who has coached Adebayo for the entirety of his six-year career. Of course, it's certainly not as though nobody recognizes his defense, and his presence on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team every year since 2020 is testament to that. During that time, he's been losing out on a spot in the First Team to players like Jaren Jackson Jr., Rudy Gobert and Giannis Antetokounmpo, all pretty handy names at that end of the floor.

Clearly, however, Spoelstra believes he remains underrated. The comments come after Bam Adebayo was faced with perhaps the toughest matchup in the NBA, and Nikola Jokic promptly went and won the Finals MVP with typically ridiculous numbers. But sometimes good offense can't be stopped no matter the defense, and that's been the case with Jokic for much of the past three years.

Bam Adebayo lost no fans during the NBA Finals, putting in a strong performance at both ends of the floor, albeit ultimately in vain. Perhaps that will help him to get the credit which Erik Spoelstra believes he deserves.