Here we go again. Bam Adebayo is taking the heat for not doing enough in Miami's 25 point loss on opening night to the Minesota Timberwolves.
Bam didn't have spectacular night offensively by any means, but that's to be expected now that he's got teammates like Giannis and Klay Thompson who will take some of that off him. But his 15 points in 31 minutes on a 6-12 shooting night where he went 1-5 from 3 and made 2 of his 3 free throws and had 7 rebounds and 4 assists has many simply saying he has to do more.
It's nothing new for Bam to find himself under the microscope of the critics' spotlight. But this time, the critics aren't holding back. Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas called the All-Star "gifted" but had and then basically asked him to do more.
"If I’m coaching him I’m like ‘bam please, I don’t want to have to stay on you. Hey, score!’ You should already know they can’t stop you! It’s like he plays good basketball. Sometimes good basketball means, dominate! I don’t need you passing to lesser versions of you," he added.
Gilbert Arenas says Bam Adebayo is holding himself back, and needs to have the mindset to average 30 PPG:
“He dials himself down. Can you please try to average 30? If I’m coaching him I’m like ‘bam please, I don’t want to have to stay on you. Hey, score!’ You should already know… pic.twitter.com/IK6r82u489
Then there was NBA insider Chiney Ogwumike's take on ESPN's "First Take" Thursday morning. "I wanted to see more of an aggressive Bam," she said. "It looked like Bam was trying to be that facilitator for them [the Heat] instead of being that guy that can go off the dribble."
“A lot from Giannis, not a lot from the rest of the Heat?” 🤔@chiney is curious about the Miami Heat after their loss to the Timberwolves. pic.twitter.com/gabrsjDYfq
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 22, 2026She wasn't the only one on the network calling him out. As we told you earlier Thursday, Kendrick Perkins called out Bam immediately following the game Wednesday night on SportsCenter. In true Kendrick Perkins fashion, de didn't mince his words either saying it's time for him "to go from an All-Star to an All NBA Player" and even mentioned the team's loyalty to him.
The Bam criticism began before the season ever started from Heat head coach-turned-analyst, Stan Van Gundy when he appeared on The Zack Lowe Show.
Stan Van Gundy is OUT on the Miami Heat and says Bam Adebayo is overrated 😳
“I’m not as high on Miami as people are… The shooting they added compromises them badly on the defensive end of the floor. Even though he was great last year, I’m not sold on Davion Mitchell as a full… pic.twitter.com/qBYPydyEHv
Meanwhile, there was this analysis from Brendan Haywood who seemed to put the blame more on the rest of the Heat than solely on Bam.. “How many teams have we seen win a championship where the best two playmakers are the 4/5? — In today’s NBA, you need at least 1 guard who can get a bucket. Davion had a solid game but he’s not that guy that can go get it! — When Giannis sits down your 2nd best playmaker can’t be Bam Adebayo. That’s crazy.'
Brendan Haywood says the Heat need to add a real scoring guard:
“How many teams have we seen win a championship where the best two playmakers are the 4/5? — In today’s NBA, you need at least 1 guard who can get a bucket. Davion had a solid game but he’s not that guy that can go… https://t.co/yi70XNb0gx pic.twitter.com/vFrQ6UivEW
As for Bam himself, he basically attributed the loss to emotions: "I think that build-up of wanting to play so good in front of our home crowd and obviously set the tone was not there. We're gonna get back to the drawing board, watch film, now it's real."
The skepticism is real too.
Adebayo has his next chance to deliver, Friday night against the Detroit Pistons.
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