Bam Adebayo is among the very best defenders in the NBA. He’s one of the most versatile given his ability to switch onto guards and has the strength and length to handle most opposing bigs. He is at the core of what the Miami Heat do defensively and is a very big reason for why they are perennially among the best defenses in the league — and have the ability to handle different matchups come playoff time.
There is one particular matchup that has troubled Adebayo, but he’s far from alone, as Nikola Jokic gave him fits in the NBA Finals en route to the Nuggets first title. There isn’t anyone in the league that has a good track record on Jokic, but the Denver center wields his size in a way few do today and in the Finals he was able to move Bam and get to his spots.
During an appearance on The OGs podcast, hosted by Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, Adebayo was asked who is the toughest guy to guard in the NBA and said “the big fella, the Serbian” without hesitation. Haslem jumped in to note that you can’t speed him up and you can’t get him off his spots, heaping praise on the two-time MVP. From there, Adebayo explained what he appreciates most about Jokic’s game, saying “he don’t flop…he tryin to get buckets.”
Bam Adebayo and Udonis Haslem say Nikola Jokić is the toughest player to guard
“The big fella, the Serbian”
“He don’t jump, he don’t run fast,
You can’t speed him up”“He don’t flop, he don’t try to get 16-17 FTs a game” pic.twitter.com/fDTKfkwK4N
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Championship Otto
(@ChiefOttoSosa) December 27, 2023
Adebayo notes he embellishes for calls as everyone does, but he’s more specifically talking about not actively trying to seek out contact outside of normal play. That is a complaint for many against Joel Embiid and plenty of other players, and it seems Jokic doesn’t hold that reputation with his fellow competitors.
It is a bit funny this comes out this week when Steve Kerr and the Warriors got extremely frustrated by Jokic parading to the free throw line in a Christmas win over Golden State, in which he absolutely delved into the dark arts. That said, games like that are spaced out enough that he doesn’t quite garner the same reputation as Embiid and others do, and at least with one of the top centers in the East, he’s gets the utmost respect for that.