Inside The Heat

Bam Adebayo sits atop the league in one shooting category

Brady Hawk|
Oct 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) is interviewed after the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Oct 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) is interviewed after the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

To kick off the Miami Heat's road trip in San Antonio less than a week ago, Bam Adebayo needed a shifted mindset. A scoring mindset due to the absences of the Heat's two expected top scorers: Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.

That led to him getting up 13 three point attempts, and 27 shots overall, in a loss to Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. These are no longer occasional launches from the perimeter, it's becoming a staple.

Going from a guy who was supposed to be the third offensive option before the season, jumped back up to that number one spot rather quickly.

The offense is turning over to guards and wings such as Jaime Jaquez Jr to attack the paint out of isolation, collapse the defense, and spray out to shooters off drive and kicks.

Those "shooters" have included Adebayo to start this season.

Not only does Adebayo lead all centers in three point attempts a night, he leads the Miami Heat currently by a wide margin. He's up to 6.4 attempts a game, as the next most on the team is Simone Fontecchio with 5.6 attempts a night.

Even crazier to mention, Bam Adebayo ranks 39th in three pointers attempted in the entire association. Why is that crazy? Well an old friend, Duncan Robinson, slots in right above him at 38th on that list.

He's currently shooting 35.6% from deep on those weighted attempts, but if you elminate the one pull-up three he takes a game due to putting the ball on the floor prior to his release, that percentage sees a massive jump.

Simplifying things to his catch and shoot looks specifically, he's shooting 40% on 5.4 attempts a night. Now that is an impressive stat for Mr. Adebayo.

According to the numbers, 83% of his three point attempts are characterized as "wide open." To dig even deeper, out of his 45 attempts from deep to start this season, only one of those was listed as a tightly contested attempt.

Teams are leaving him open above the break when there's an attacking ball handler racing downhill, which especially leaves him on an island against drop bigs.

The match-up with Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez just a night ago is the perfect example. He found plenty of open space at the top of the key, and when he pulls with zero hesitance, there's a good chance it's dropping.

Now when he's spotted up in that right or left corner, his threes never seem as spacious. It's easier for bigs to mediate an on-ball attacker and a spot-up Adebayo in the corner, which simply means there's added opportunities for Adebayo to find success as a catch and go threat.

As seen on the specific possession above, the kick-out is made, Adebayo attacks the front foot of Zubac to get down that baseline, and ends it with a fantastic reverse finish underneath.

Funny enough, Bam Adebayo's three point shooting was actually never about the three point shooting. It's about the added respect levels that come with it, leading to more chances to get to his game as a constant downhill attacker.

We're already seeing teams defend it differently, but his decisiveness is allowing it to flourish.

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Brady Hawk
BRADY HAWK

Brady is a co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast and has done writing for the Five Reasons Sports Network. He has been a season credential holder for the Miami Heat since 2022. TWITTER: @BradyHawk305

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