One of the most improved players in the NBA last season has decided he'll be staying for long with his current organization.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat have reached an agreement on a five-year max-extension that will be worth at least $163 million.
Adebayo is making history, and after leading the Heat to the NBA Finals at Orlando along with Jimmy Butler, he's signed the richest contract in terms of total value in Heat history.
“This is an accomplishment I always wanted to get,” Adebayo said. “Just being able to reach this milestone and being able to generationally change my family’s life and also take care of the people around me, it’s a big deal to me.”
The 6-foot-10 Center is coming off the best season of his career. Aside from being an All-Star for the first time, he averaged 15.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists this past season. The only other player in the league had those numbers was the two-time reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Adebayo is the fourth member of the 2017 NBA Draft class to secure a max extension, along with Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Celtics' Jayson Tatum.
“They going to push you no matter what, whether you’ve got 160 M’s or you’ve got 1.5. We all get treated the same and that’s what I love about this organization,” Adebayo said of the Miami culture.
Adebayo will make $5.1 million this season, which is the final year of his rookie contract. From there, the extension will begin with a starting salary of $28.1 million for the 2021-22 season.