Jimmy Butler firmly believes his Miami Heat teammate Bam Adebayo is an All-Star and deserves to be in the All-Star Game. He made that abundantly clear on Friday after they took down the Orlando Magic.
Speaking to reporters after leading the Heat to the 110-105 win, Butler shared his belief that Adebayo will be picked by the coaches as an All-Star reserve.
“We all know that he deserves it. I think he will be picked… He better be there, that's for sure,” Butler said, per Bally Sports.
Sure enough, Bam Adebayo showed on Friday why he deserves to be an All-Star. Against the Magic, he was all over the court as he recorded 20 points, six rebounds, seven assists and a steal and a block.
Adebayo was critical of the All-Star voting after he failed to even make it to the Top 10 vote-getters among frontcourt players in the East. He highlighted how some who were not even deserving to be there got in simply because of fan votes. Nonetheless, just like what Jimmy Butler said, Adebayo himself is confident he has done enough to warrant an All-Star nod from the coaches.
“I'll leave fan voting to fan voting. There are guys that shouldn't even be on that list. But it's fan voting. That's what it is and you got to live with that. I mean, right now I'm in a position where it's based off the coaches in the East,” Adebayo shared.
The All-Star starters are set. Now, the coaches will be picking who'll join them in the festivities this February. Hopefully, both Butler and Adebayo make it, especially since they have been really pivotal in keeping the Heat in playoff contention out East.