Bam Adebayo averaged 19.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game last season.
The Miami Heat and star big man Bam Adebayo are keeping their partnership going even longer. The Heat announced on Sunday that Adebayo had signed an extension with the team, a deal reportedly for three years and $166 million that will keep him with the franchise through 2028-29.
Adebayo is a three-time All-Star and five-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the All-Defensive First Team in 2023-24 for the first time in his career. He finished third in Kia Defensive Player of the Year voting last season and averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 52.1% overall and a career-best 35.7% on 3-pointers.
Live from #USABMNT training camp: it's official ✍️@Bam1of1 // @MiamiHEAT pic.twitter.com/DwKPWRMKwa
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) July 6, 2024
Our captain! 💥
OFFICIAL: The Miami HEAT have re-signed Bam Adebayo to a contract extension. More info – https://t.co/W2L0bPPZrl pic.twitter.com/Nnd8xr8j3t
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) July 6, 2024
Miami’s captain and starting center has two years and about $72 million remaining on his current deal with the Heat, the only team he’s played for since Miami drafted him in 2017.
A member of the U.S. Olympic team that won gold at the Tokyo Games three years ago, Adebayo is part of the team that will play at the Paris Games starting next month. He is three years into his current deal, a five-year, $163 million contract.
Miami’s outlook: Adebayo isn’t the only name on the Heat who was in line for an extension this summer. Swingman Jimmy Butler was expected to ask for a contract extension this summer which could guarantee him as much as $113 million for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 season.
However, Heat president Pat Riley said in May that he was unsure about an extension for Butler. While he is an elite player, he also turns 35 in September and has missed 100 regular season games in his five Miami seasons, sitting out for injuries, rest or other reasons nearly 26% of the time.
He suffered a knee injury during the Play-In Tournament this season and missed Miami’s five-game first-round series loss to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
The player availability issue goes well beyond just Butler. Miami used a franchise-record 37 different starting lineups in 89 games in 2023-24, including the two play-in contests. It had 18 different players make at least one start, largely because the lineup of available players seemed to always be changing from one night to the next.
Tyler Herro missed 40 games in the regular season, while Butler missed 22. Injuries dogged Miami all year long and only two players — rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. (75) and Adebayo (71) — made more than 70 appearances for the Heat in the regular season.
Aside from the contract extensions for Butler and Adebayo in the offseason mix, Miami also has 10 free agents this summer. Four of them — Caleb Martin, Josh Richardson, Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant — have player options and were in the regular rotation, while veteran guards Delon Wright and Patty Mills are both unrestricted free agents.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
