Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo Calls Omission From Defensive Player Of The Year Finalist `Disrespectful’

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has spent all season campaigning for his case in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year award. 

So, it was a surprise to Adebayo when he figured out that he was not selected to compete for the award.

The three finalists are Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, and Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges. Adebayo spoke Monday about not receiving a selection.

“It’s disrespectful, obviously,” Adebayo said after Monday’s practice. “I feel like I can do anything that two out of the three can do, besides not being able to teach height. All three of them play on TV more than me, so I would expect that. They get more TV games, they get more exposure, people like to talk about them more. Nobody wants to talk about us, so it’s whatever at that point.”