Kendrick Perkins Blasts Bam Adebayo After Heat Star Felt Scapegoated by Media

With a 0-4 start and Giannis Antetokounmpo on board, the Miami Heat still haven't pulled off a contender-level play. But as we dig deeper into the season, ESPN analyst and former NBA star Kendrick Perkins believes it's time for Miami’s Bam “83-point” Adebayo to live up to the hype he's gotten so far.

“Bam Adebayo is what’s going on in South Beach,” said Perkins on a recent appearance on the Road Trippin’ Show. “When is Bam going to take that leap from an All-Star caliber player to an All-NBA-caliber player? He’s never had to go through a contract negotiation that was a standoff. They always paid him max money on time. And he’s never been in trade rumors.”

Now, this comes after Adebayo’s 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists performance in the Heat’s latest 113-109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks and a constant shooting slump he’s been in, resulting in heavy criticism from the media. However, the 29-year-old had pushed back on these immediately.

After the game against the Mavs, the Heat center claimed that his slump is just about his own shots not going in. Per him, it is something he’s confident he'll recover from soon.

“You can’t overthink basketball,” he said following the loss to the Mavs. “For me, it’s my shot not going in. I’m not going to overthink that. It’s funny how the outside noise wants to make me the scapegoat. But when the tables turn and the energy shifts, just be prepared for that.”

However, for the player who recorded a career-high 83 points (second-highest single-game scoring total in NBA history) last season, has been in a 3-year, $160,342,092 contract with the Heat, and has never been wanted out of Miami for the past 10 seasons, an average of 11.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists sure isn’t the expected mark.

“Pat Riley didn’t go get a whale to be the in the position they’ve been in the last 5 years,” Perkins added. “When Bam and Jimmy went to the finals, it was conversations being had that said, ‘hey, is it time to put Bam on the same level as Anthony Davis or Giannis? And we said yeah, Bam got the ceiling.’ HE’S NEVER AVERAGE OVER 20 POINTS!”

Moreover, the 41-year-old analyst has been on it for a while now. What draws further attention to Adebayo’s current performance is that Antetokounmpo has been averaging 28.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists across 4 games. So, sharing the same space as the Greek star will require Adebayo to step up his game.

“First-round exit in the Eastern Conference. Giannis is a generational talent,” Perkins said following the Heat’s season-opening 131-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last week, per Heat Central’s X post on October 22. “Averaging 18-20 PPG, that’s not going to cut it. You got to average 25! It’s time for Bam to elevate his game.”

The only way for Miami’s big man to shut down these buzzes will be a remarkable play this Wednesday (and more) once the Heat takes on the Atlanta Hawks.