Miami Heat: Can Bam Adebayo end up being the steal of the 2017 NBA Draft?

Can Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo end up being the steal of the NBA draft? He has been the perfect fit off the bench backing up Hassan Whiteside.

While the obvious choices might not immediately scream Bam Adebayo for steal of the 2017 NBA Draft, especially when you consider Kyle Kuzma, John Collins or Donovan Mitchell‘s seasons, there are key reasons why Bam has been overlooked.

When the Miami Heat missed out on Mitchell by one pick last summer, many fans, including myself, were furious when the team went for a reach player in Bam Adebayo.

Since then, this Kentucky star has slowly adjusted into the perfect position as Hassan Whiteside’s backup. What was more impressive was his run during Whiteside’s absence — especially for a rookie.

In last Friday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Bam ended up with the best offensive rating out of the whole team: a 143, compared to the team average of 107. He also had the most productive night with 15 points, 13 rebounds and six assists — the best stat line overall from either team that night, making him the first under-21 player ever to post those numbers.

That’s a steal-of-the-draft kind of achievement, if you ask me.

In this past Monday’s game against the Orlando Magic, Bam finished the night with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes for his fifth double-double in the season.

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The Heat’s early success was also a testament to why the New Jersey native should be among the top contenders for the unofficial “steal of the draft” title.

Since then, Miami has been on a slump only, managing three wins in the past 10 games. The reason has been a collective lack of shooting from every position.

But not much of that falls on Bam Adebayo. In fact, Miami has asked a lot from the 14th overall pick since injuries have forced head coach Erik Spoelstra’s hand, resulting in various lineup changes. A lineup with Adebayo inserted ranks third in both scoring and rebounding within those various rotations.

He has slowly become the perfect fit for a backup and has even outperformed Hassan Whiteside at times. Adebayo is the fifth-best rim protector (allowing 50.5 percent shooting) among 64 qualifying centers that have defended at least 100 field goal attempts at the rim, per NBA.com.

He only trails Pau Gasol, Kristaps Porzingis, Salah Mejri and Joel Embiid. Once again, very impressive for a rookie.

Miami’s rollercoaster of a season has definitely seen its downfalls and horrific offense, but Bam certainly hasn’t been the culprit. If anything, part of their early success had assistance in small part from Adebayo.

Next: 2017-18 Week 17 NBA Power Rankings

While the steal of the draft award doesn’t exist, Bam gets my vote while he continues to silence critics and Heat doubters everywhere.