Adebayo also assesses Rookie of the Year credentials of team-mate Kendrick Nunn and Memphis Grizzlies' Ja Morant
Thursday 23 April 2020 09:37, UK
Bam Adebayo has revealed his team-mate Jimmy Butler mailed a basketball hoop to every Miami Heat player to help them stay sharp during the coronavirus lockdown.
Adebayo joined Gametime host Casey Stern and WNBA star Candace Parker and explained how he has been coping with the lockdown and how the Heat's famous culture is helping the players adjust to life without competitive basketball.
"Zoom meetings, calling one another," Adebayo said. "I feel that is a big part of our chemistry and why we gel so well. It is easy for us to call each other and have a conversation. We have been doing that. We have been working out together on zoom trying to figure out some indoor workouts."
Adebayo then explained how Butler has tried to ensure his team-mates keep their shooting skills as sharp as possible during the season hiatus.
"Jimmy called me one day and said: 'There's something in the mail for you, just be expecting it'. I get the mail and I'm thinking 'What is this big box?'
"I'm thinking it was a joke but I opened it and saw it as a [basketball] goal. I called Jimmy back and said, 'I'm in an apartment, what am I about to do with this? Put it on the balcony?'
"But it shows that he cares about his team-mates and he wants us to be working like he is. I thank him for it."
Stern and Parker were also keen to hear Adebayo's response to his team-mate Kendrick Nunn's recent comments that he, not Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant, should be the leading contender for the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year award.
Nunn told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "I think people will say that [Ja Morant] is Rookie of the Year but I don't believe it. The most value should be in the wins."
The Heat sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 41-24 record while the Grizzlies are eighth in the West with 32 wins and 33 losses.
"That is tough because Ja has changed the way of Memphis. At this moment they are a playoff team," Adebayo said. "But at the same time, Kendrick is part of a team that is fourth in the East. It's tough but I am biased towards Kendrick.
