Bam Adebayo talks about his struggle since the start of 2024/25

Miami Heat star big man Bam Adebayo has gotten off to a slow start in the 2024-25 season shooting the ball, and he recently opened up on his struggles.

“Everybody is not going to have a great game every game. It is what it is,” Adebayo said. “For me, it’s not losing confidence in who I am. It’s not overthinking the game too much because you’ll start making other mistakes. It’s one of those things where I’m just missing shots. I don’t look at it any more than that. At some point, the shots will turn around and it’s up from there.”

This season, Adebayo is shooting just 41.9 per cent from the field, the first time in his career that he’s been below 50 per cent. Over his first seven NBA seasons, Adebayo averaged 15.4 points per game while shooting 54.7 per cent from the field and 55.4 per cent from inside the arc.

However, in the 2024-25 campaign, Adebayo is averaging just 15.6 points per game – his lowest points per game since his second season in the NBA. Since the 2019-20 season, Adebayo has averaged at least 15.9 points per game in every completed season.

With Adebayo struggling from the field, the Heat are just 9-10 through their first 19 games, losing badly to the Boston Celtics.

Despite the big man’s field-goal percentage dropping, guard Tyler Herro still thinks he’s impacting the game for Miami.

“I don’t think he’s struggling, honestly,” Herro said when asked about Adebayo’s shooting slump. “I think he’s playing a great brand of basketball. He’s continuing to impact the game on the defensive end. He’s gotten two triple-doubles in the last three days. Missed shots are one thing, but he continues to find ways to impact the game. His scoring, he’ll continue to get his looks and he’s going to make his shots. We know what he’s capable of. So I don’t think he’s struggling.”

Ultimately, the Heat need Adebayo to start hitting shots at a higher clip if they want their offence to improve. This season, Miami ranks just 20th in the NBA in offensive rating.

While Adebayo’s scoring is down, his usage is still pretty similar to last season. He’s attempting 14.1 shots per game (2.8 shots per game from 3) compared to 14.3 shots per game last season (0.6 shots per game from 3).

The increased 3-point volume could be one of the reasons that Adebayo’s field-goal percentage is dropping, but he’s also shooting a career-low 44.1 per cent from inside the 3-point line this season.