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Heat big man showing incredible shooting skills on Team USA
Team USA's Bam Adebayo. Sipa Press

Heat big man showing incredible shooting skills on Team USA

Bam Adebayo is a 22 percent three-point shooter for his career. On Team USA, he looks like a 6-foot-9 Steph Curry.

Adebayo shot 6-of-6 from the field in the first half of Team USA's 103-86 victory over South Sudan Wednesday, including 2-of-2 from three-point range. He finished with a team-high 18 points, seven rebounds, a steal and two blocks. In a reversal of roles, Curry was setting screens to get Adebayo open for jumpers, while also driving and kicking out to the Miami Heat big man.

In Team USA's warmup game against Serbia, Adebayo hit three triples. a shocking effort from a player who has made only 23 three-pointers in his seven-year NBA career. The newfound sharpshooting began with the last month of the regular season, when Adebayo shot 14-of-28 from behind the arc, nearly tripling his career totals.

While Adebayo is a stellar defender and a three-time All-Star, adding a three-point shot could take the 27-year-old to another level. For a Miami team that lost Caleb Martin to the 76ers this summer, Miami's replacement for Martin's outside shooting could come in-house.

Still, Adebayo remembered his roots: Dunking really hard.

Adebayo has been a revelation. It's not a surprise that he's been effective on defense. But no one was expecting Adebayo to match Kevin Durant's three-point numbers against South Sudan. Except perhaps for Bam himself.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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