Bam Adebayo Thinks He Got Snubbed For DPOY Simply Because The Heat Weren't On National TV Enough

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I don't want this to come off the wrong way because everyone with eyes and a brain knows Bam is ELITE on the defensive end. He may be "undersized" for his position but it in no way matters. He switches at an elite level, he can guard 1-5, and for some reason guards still try to challenge him despite it almost never working out. 

But give me a break with this crying. You see he's upset because Bam didn't make the final 3 for DPOY.

It went Bridges/Smart/Gobert, three guys who are absolutely deserving. I could understand Bam being a little annoyed if someone that didn't deserve to be there made it, but that is not the case with that list. You have two guys who operate and are cornerstones for the top 2 defenses in the NBA and then Gobert who isn't exactly a slouch on that end. It was going to be a tough cutoff no matter who got left off whether it was Bam, Giannis, or JJJ. I think it's a little ridiculous to suggest that Bam only missed because other guys were able to sway voters by laying on national TV. If that was the case, how do you explain Giannis being left off despite having monster defensive performances in 36 national TV games? The Heat had 22, which was 13th in the league and barely trailed the Jazz's 26. I'd say it's more that Bam's 56 games played did him in. You compare that to Smart's 71, Bridges' 82, and Gobert's 66 and what are we even talking about here. With a race that was so close filled with so many deserving guys, availability matters. It sucks Bam got hurt, but that's how the cookie crumbled. 

Just flip this around. If Bam made the final 3 and played 66+ games, would he be down with someone who played under 57 games taking his spot just because they were on TV a little less? Of course not! He would say availability matters and his display of dominance was consistent over a larger body of work. You don't see Draymond crying about the snub because he probably realizes he missed too many games to even be considered. Now things do get a little tricky because in 2018 Gobert won by playing 57 games so I can understand why Heat fans are upset, but the 2022 race was a different beast.

If I had to guess, a DPOY (or a few) is in Bam's future. Like I said, he's elite on that end and only getting better. I'm just not so sure this is the season to be crying out, especially when the finalists that did get announced all have legit cases with a larger body of work. Sometimes injuries happen and it's out of your control. That's not being disrespected, it's just the reality of the situation. Something has to differentiate these guys and the best ability is availability.