Week 20 NBA DPOY Ladder: A new face tops the rankings

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 24: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves quarter of the game at Target Center on November 24, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Heat 113-101, Week 20 NBA DPOY Ladder: A new face tops the rankings. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images) /

Week 20 NBA DPOY Ladder: 2. Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

Rank last week: N/R

In an unusual case, a player who was unranked on last week’s ladder finds himself climbing all the way up to second in the rankings in just one week.

And admittedly, the reason Adebayo wasn’t on last week’s ladder is because of the ‘games played’ narrative. However, at this point in the season, Adebayo has caught up to most of the players around him in terms of games played.

In turn, since he’s matched his colleagues in that sense, he needs to be thrown directly into the conversation for this award, as it’s one he’ll almost certainly end up winning at one point in his career.

The Miami Heat are the fifth-best defense in the league this season, and Adebayo is the unquestioned anchor of that unit. Jimmy Butler is elite, Kyle Lowry is scrappy, and the rest of the team is great, too, but the defense is all about Adebayo.

Adebayo’s greatest asset is his versatility. He’s one of maybe two players in the entire league that can legitimately guard positions one through five (Draymond Green and Ben Simmons being the others).

On any given night, Erik Spoelstra could ask Adebayo to guard Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, or Trae Young. And no matter what, he’s up to the challenge.

He may not have been in the running earlier this year because of injuries, but now that he’s healthy and the Heat are rolling, watch out for Adebayo in this race.