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Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green is not happy Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo didn't even make it to the Top 3 finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.
The Heat were the fourth-best defensive team in the NBA during the 2021-22 regular season, and Adebayo was a big reason for that. He anchored the paint for Miami, allowing the team to thrive even when their offense was not clicking.
Unfortunately for Adebayo, he finished fourth in DPOY voting behind eventual winner Marcus Smart and runners-up Mikal Bridges and Rudy Gobert.
For Green, however, Adebayo should have been at least a Top 3 contender for the award. He has done more than enough to be in consideration, albeit to no avail, which is just “ridiculous” for Green.
“I don’t know what Bam has to do to get in the top 3, but it was a crime, a shame that he didn’t make the top 3,” Green said in his latest podcast, per Brady Hawk of 5 Reason Sports. “I think we all know how ridiculous it is that Bam Adebayo, sitting 1st place in the East, did not make the top 3.”
Bam Adebayo certainly deserves the honor. The problem is there are a lot of deserving players as well, and it's hard to remove any of Smart, Bridges and Gobert in the discussion.
In the end, it's up to the voters in determining who they think made the most impact defensively.
As Adebayo said recently, though, the fact that the Heat had less national TV games didn't help his case.
Hopefully, though, Adebayo gets the respect he deserves sooner rather than later.
