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How latest milestone for Heat’s Bam Adebayo makes him ‘rock of consistency’
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- How latest milestone for Heat’s Bam Adebayo makes him ‘rock of consistency’
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How latest milestone for Heat's Bam Adebayo makes him 'rock of consistency' appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
MIAMI – With the Miami Heat displaying progress currently after Thursday's win over the Detroit Pistons to make it four straight wins, the team looks to keep it going, led by captain Bam Adebayo . As the Heat star in Adebayo continues to make history for the franchise, the start of the team's back-to-back on Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves marks another milestone for the big man.
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While Miami looks to keep up the positive momentum going this weekend, Saturday's game is a special one for the 28-year-old as he passes Alonzo Mourning for the third-most games played with the franchise at 594 contests. Dwyane Wade is first on that list with 948 games played, as Udonis Haslem is second with 879.
Also coming in a season where Adebayo became a top-three scorer in the team's history, head coach Erik Spoelstra is continuously amazed by the star's impact with the team, calling him a "rock of consistency."
"It still stuns me all these records that he continues to make for our franchise, because it felt like Zo [Mourning] played for us for 20 years," Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints before Saturday's game against Minnesota. "And I know Zo was out due to the illness and everything, but those initial years felt like double or triple in time, but it shows you, Bam's steadiness, his consistency, he's a rock of consistency. Ultimately, that's a talent in this league, and he's found a way to embrace that and be available and continue to grow as a player, and he's doing amazing things."
So far this season in 26 games, Adebayo has been averaging 17.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 46.2 percent from the field.
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There's no denying how much of a cornerstone Adebayo is for the Heat , which has been said time and time again by coaches, current and former players alike. One figure who has praised Adebayo for his representation of Miami is Wade, widely considered to be the greatest player in franchise history.
Speaking after getting his statue built in front of the Kaseya Center, Wade spoke at-length about Adebayo being a flagbearer for the Heat, just like himself, Haslem, and many others. With Adebayo joining the ranks of Wade and Haslem in many statistical categories, he's already cemented himself a great legacy with the franchise.
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"We speak a lot, we've always have, UD, myself, the organization have spoke to Bam [Adebayo] at this level for a long time," Wade said to ClutchPoints on Oct. 27. "And it's not pressure, it's just opportunity. I mentioned Alonzo Mourning, I mentioned Udonis Haslem. I mentioned myself, and then I mentioned Bam. To mention Bam, with those likes, that's respect, because we see him as someone who's going to continue to take on everything that we learned here and everything that we passed on for this organization to be successful."
"And you don't have those players; they don't come around often," Wade said. "You have a lot of talented players come around, you have people that do great things. You don't have cornerstone individuals that can take your culture and keep it going. And so I just spoke on that, and I've spoken to him."
Adebayo continues to lead Miami as he continues to climb Miami's leaderboards while also helping the team improve in the current season, looking to get back to its winning ways.
Related: Bam Adebayo, Norman Powell drop blunt takes on Heat's outlook after Timberwolves loss
