Bam Adebayo being underrated now that Heat have their superstar

The Miami Heat are warming up for a season unlike any they've had since LeBron James returned to Cleveland over a decade ago. And yet somehow, the addition of one superstar in South Beach is already causing the NBA world to overlook the longtime heart and soul of the team.

The 2026 offseason will be remembered, above all else, as the year the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga finally ended, with the Greek Freak swapping Cream City for Heat Culture and hoping to add at least one more ring to his already-illustrious list of accolades before he calls it a career.

But Bam Adebayo, fresh off a season in which he broke the modern single-game scoring record, might be seeing his stock fall, not rise, around the Association as a result of the Antetokounmpo addition, despite the impressive versatility he's displayed on both sides of the ball across his career thus far.

Adebayo falls outside top-20 in latest list

The Athletic's "NBA Daily" podcast, in their preseason rankings of the top 30 players going into the 2026-27 season, has ranked Adebayo at No. 24 in the league, controversially placing the big man behind names like Devin Booker that might be more readily known for their offensive prowess.

In explaining the ranking, NBA analyst Zena Keita claimed that Adebayo's value on offense was low enough to make her question his inclusion on the list in the first place.

"God, I don't want to sound like Tyler Herro, but I don't know if he does it for me!" Keita said. "I really love his game, don't get me wrong. [But] I don't know if he's enough for me to be top 30... I'm looking especially with this new season that's upon us, and Giannis is going to be taking over that whole situation – does Bam do enough offensively alongside someone like Giannis to warrant him getting the touches that he's had?

"I don't know how, offensively, that mixes," Keita concluded.

Frankly, it's a surprising conclusion to make about a player with Bam's offensive resume.