A lot of fingers get pointed around when something horrendous happens to an NBA team. After the Miami Heat started their NBA season with four losses, blame was thrown around. Some no longer trusted Coach Erik Spoelstra. Some were more skeptical of Giannis Antetokounmpo. But most avid spectators pointed to Bam Adebayo as the primary problem in this losing streak.
The Heat superstar shouldered a huge part of the blame but did make a promise to their fans.
Heat's Adebayo takes accountability for 0-4 NBA season start
Bam Adebayo is one of the longest-tenured players under Coach Erik Spoelstra. So, he knows exactly what winning through Heat culture entails. To the same degree, he is also one of the players people easily blame when things go wrong. That is exactly what happened after the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Adebayo got the short end of the stick. People thought it probably wasn't Giannis Antetokounmpo to blame for this massive underperformance. He had recently just landed with the Heat and is seen as the panacea for their championship heartbreaks of years past. As a result, fingers started pointing at the Heat big man.
How does he feel about it? Well, the only thing Adebayo could do was take accountability and reassure Heat fans this spell wouldn't happen again, via Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“Can’t overthink basketball, man. For me, it’s my shot’s not going in. It’s funny how the outside noise wants to make me the scapegoat, but when the tables turn … when the energy shifts, just be prepared for that," the Heat star declared.
Adebayo's struggles have been fairly evident in these first four games. Coach Spoelstra has entrusted him with 30.8 minutes on average. But the Heat big man has only gotten 11.8 points on a career-low 40% field goal percentage.
"The media gonna be the media. They gonna try to bury you when you’re down, and then it’s quiet when you’re up, so you expect that from the media," Adebayo added.
Bam Adebayo does NOT want the ball in the 4Q Giannis is being forced to take on the entire Mavs defense... https://t.co/aQ1F0IYYox
— The HEAT Realm (@WadexFlash) October 27, 2026Defensively, the Heat star has also not been the most productive. He is only grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game, the second-worst of his career, next only to his 2017-18 rookie campaign. Adebayo has also hit a career-low defensive box-plus-minus of -0.5. This is the first time his DBPM has been negative on average in his career.
The Heat, led by Antetokounmpo and Coach Spoelstra, will have chips on their shoulders as the season progresses. However, they will need Adebayo to step up and erase these career lows to reach greater heights.
