Heat’s Bam Adebayo ready to put summer work to the test: ‘I’m always looking to improve everything’

Bam Adebayo is coming off an offseason that very few NBA players get to experience. Not only did the three-time NBA All-Star center win his second Olympic gold medal as a member of Team USA this summer, but he also signed a lucrative maximum contract extension in July that keeps him under contract with the Miami Heat through the 2028-29 season.

“I would say exciting,” the 27-year-old Adebayo said recently when asked for one word to describe his offseason.

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Exciting is an understatement. It was a historic offseason, as Adebayo committed to his second max extension with the Heat and became the first player in franchise history to win multiple Olympic gold medals while with the Heat.

“Obviously, having an extension, being able to get extended, that’s a great feeling,” Adebayo said. “As for the Olympics, that’s one of the most historic things that I’ve done — being part of a team that is compared to the ‘Dream Team.’ To be able to be part of a team where you got three for sure first-ballot Hall of Famers (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and LeBron James) coming together to do one last accomplishment together, to be a part of that … you can’t really put that into words.”

But that’s all in the past, and what’s ahead is now the focus for Adebayo, with the Heat set to hold media day on Monday at Kaseya Center in Miami before opening training camp on Tuesday at Baha Mar in the Bahamas.

Adebayo, who is entering his eighth NBA season (all with the Heat), added new layers to his offensive game while continuing to establish himself as one of the NBA’s best defenders last season.

Adebayo averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field last regular season. The 10.4 rebounds per game were a career high for Adebayo, but it’s his three-point shooting that became the story.

With Adebayo’s shot chart including a lot of midrange shots, he traded in some of those long twos for three-pointers in the final months of the season and the results were positive. After shooting just 1 of 14 (7.1 percent) on threes through his first 54 appearances of the regular season, he shot 14 of 28 (50 percent) from three-point range during his final 17 regular-season games.

Yes, Adebayo continued to work on his three-point shooting this offseason. But improving as an outside shooter wasn’t the only item on his summer to-do list.

“I’m always looking to improve everything — it’s not just one thing specifically,” Adebayo made clear. “Obviously, everybody is going to point out the three-point shooting. But for me, it’s like decision making when you need to be able to make a play, read the game, being able to be the second coach on the floor besides your head coach. Being able to be, when we can’t hear [coach Erik Spoelstra] because he’s on the far end, being able to communicate and understand what the goal is throughout the game.

“Like I said, everybody is going to look at my three-point shooting and be like, ‘Oh, that’s what he worked on.’ Of course I did. It’s due for development. Any great player wants to develop to be a three-level scorer, and that’s what I strive to be. But for me, it’s not really just one particular thing when it comes to development.”

Among the potential areas of growth for Adebayo on offense include continuing to refine his post-up package, finding ways to generate more shots around the rim and making the three-point shot an even bigger part of his game.

There’s not as much room for improvement on the defensive end for Adebayo, who has been named to an NBA All-Defensive team in each of the last five seasons. He’s already an elite defender who finished third in the voting for last season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award that went to Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.

But Adebayo knows more will be needed from him and others this season on both ends of the court for the Heat to take a step forward after last season’s early first-round playoff exit. While the Heat has played in the Eastern Conference finals in three of the last five seasons and in the NBA Finals in two of the last five seasons, it has also needed to qualify for the playoffs through the play-in tournament in each of the last two seasons.

As one of the Heat’s leading men, Adebayo hopes to help put the Heat in a better postseason position this time around.

“To me, being a leading man — to simplify it — means to win,” said Adebayo, who is entering his second season as the Heat’s captain. “It doesn’t matter how that looks. But being the man in front and winning takes care of all the other things that people want to put a narrative behind or twist words. To me, leading man means to win.”