Bam Adebayo is soaking up every moment of the Nuggets-Heat Finals series and really put things into perspective after Game 2.
Although many thought Adebayo would crumble at the mercy of Nikola Jokic, that hasn’t happened yet and Bam is actually enjoying himself.
“Maaaaaan,” Adebayo said. “I lived off $12,000 a year, me and my mom. It don’t get weightier than that. This is fun.”
The Heat’s big man was key to Miami’s success in their 111-108 Game 2 win as he recorded 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks to hand Denver their first loss at home in the postseason.
“I love it. I love proving people wrong,” Adebayo said.
“This is the finals. This is what we live for. This is the opportunity that we have. This is the opportunity that we don’t want to let slip away. So the biggest thing for me, man, I go out there, I play with a will. I play with passion. And I try to leave it all on the court.”
Adebayo’s peers and coach alike are in awe of his workload, with coach Erik Spoelstra recognizing just how difficult Bam’s task is.
“Bam, we just can’t say enough of how difficult his responsibilities are in this series,” Spoelstra said. “To take arguably the toughest cover in the league for all the myriad of reasons that I don’t need to get into, and then he has to shoulder a big offensive role for us, as well. So it’s not like he can just stand and rest on the offensive side, and yes, he has to play 40-plus minutes, as well.”
Heat forward Duncan Robsinon simply said, “Bam is a beast. A beast.”
Adebayo’s performances in this series have got many in the NBA community giving him the nod for Finals MVP over Jimmy Butler.
From an MVP voter’s perspective, he has certainly built a good case already, as he averages 23.5 points, 11 rebounds and 4.5 assists over the first two games.
Adebayo will get a chance to leave it all out on the court once more and even take a series lead in Game 3 in Miami.
Game 3 of the Nuggets-Heat series will take place on Wednesday, June 7 at 8:30PM ET at Kaseya Center.
Read more: Warriors Mastermind Steve Kerr Breaks Down Miami’s Game 2 Adjustments