Bam Adebayo had already flashed star potential by the time the NBA played out its bubble postseason, but his block at Disney that September is what really put him on the map around the NBA.
Adebayo had blossomed into one of the NBA’s top rim protectors by the 2019-20 season. And in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Celtics, Adebayo and the Miami Heat were up 116-114 in overtime with just a few seconds left.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum went up for a would-be game-tying dunk, but in a display of incredible defensive ability, Adebayo went up and blocked the shot, all without fouling.
While the Heat didn’t end up winning the NBA title that season, the block eventually helped push them into the NBA Finals while becoming a memorable image from that postseason run.
Adebayo knows Tatum fairly well, and he’s making sure that Tatum never forgets what happened in September 2020.
“That was an out of body experience,” Adebayo said this week on the “Old Man and the Three” podcast with JJ Redick. “For one, obviously me and JT have known each other since we were in the sandbox. And I’m petty, so the first thing in my mind was “Oh, I’m going to talk my shit to him.” Every year I send him the anniversary picture like “Dog, happy anniversary, man. I appreciate you.’”
If you made that play, you’d gloat about it for a while, too.
The Heat locked up the first seed in the Eastern Conference this season, but the Celtics have been one of the best teams in the league since Christmas.
So, maybe we’ll all be treated to another Celtics-Heat playoff series this season.
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