Where did Heat’s Bam Adebayo finish in DPOY voting? And what it could mean for his next contract

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo finished as one of the top three vote-getters for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award this season for the first time in his career. But unfortunately for Adebayo, that didn’t result in his first Defensive Player of the Year trophy.

Instead, this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award went to Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. With the voting results announced Tuesday night, Adebayo finished in third place behind second-place Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Gobert.

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The 26-year-old Adebayo, who has established himself as one of the NBA’s best and most versatile defenders, received three first-place votes, 15 second-place votes, 31 third-place votes for the award. In comparison, Gobert received 72 first-place votes and Wembanyama received 19 first-place votes from a panel of 99 media members who voted on the NBA’s regular-season awards.

The only Heat player to be named Defensive Player of the Year in franchise history is Alonzo Mourning, who received the honor in back-to-back seasons for the 1998-99 and 1999-00 campaigns.

“I think he’ll get it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said earlier this season when asked if he’s concerned that Adebayo could go his entire NBA career without getting the Defensive Player of the Year award. “That’s the way I’m viewing it. He just has to keep on being exceptional on that side of the floor, getting more people to understand how unique and impactful he is on that side of the floor. Sometimes it’s clear to people, sometimes people need to learn the intricacies of it.”

The fact Adebayo finished as one of the three finalists for the honor for the first time is a positive step forward, with his impact on the defensive end transcending the traditional box score.

Unlike elite shot-blockers and rim protectors like Gobert and Wembanyama, Adebayo makes his impact in subtler ways through his ability to effectively guard every position on the court and unique versatility between different defensive schemes. After spending the last few seasons playing mostly as an excellent switching big man, he adjusted to the personnel around him to shine in a different coverage this season.

From switching 12 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions last regular season, Adebayo switched just 5.8 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions this regular season, according to Second Spectrum tracking data. With fewer switchable Heat defenders around him, Adebayo played as more of a drop defender this season to stay around the rim and make an impact in the paint.

Adebayo went from playing drop coverage on 11.1 screens per 100 possessions last regular season to 17.9 screens per 100 possessions this regular season.

The result: The Heat still finished with a top-five defense. With Adebayo at the center of everything Miami does on that end of the court, the Heat closed the regular season with the NBA’s fifth-best defensive rating

But Tuesday’s voting results mean that Adebayo is less likely to meet the supermax criteria.

Adebayo, who is currently under contract through the 2025-26 season, would become eligible to sign a four-year, $245 million extension this offseason if he meets the supermax criteria. The only way Adebayo can become eligible for the supermax is either by winning the Defensive Player of the Year award this season, by being named to an All-NBA team (first, second or third) this season or by being named the NBA’s MVP this season.

Adebayo is not this season’s Defensive Player of the Year and is not among the three finalists for the league’s MVP award. So the only way he can still qualify for a supermax contract this offseason is by being named to one of the All-NBA teams, which will be announced later this postseason.

If Adebayo doesn’t qualify for the supermax, he will instead be eligible for a three-year contract worth $165 million. Any extension Adebayo signs this offseason would begin in the 2026-27 season.

But, considering he finished third in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year, Adebayo does appear to have a good chance of being named to the All-Defensive First Team for the first time in his NBA career. Those five-player teams are now selected regardless of position.

Adebayo, who just completed his seventh NBA season, has been named to the All-Defensive Second Team in each of the previous four seasons. He will make his second appearance in the Olympics this summer in Paris after helping Team USA win a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“It’s great to see he’s acknowledged for the efforts that he does,” Spoelstra said last month of Adebayo’s place as one of the three finalists for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award. “Our team defense was very good this year. He was a major part of that. And his ability to do things that help your defense be at an elite level that are not obvious, that are not just the basic shot-blocking or protecting the rim. It’s being able to do multiple coverages, being able to guard one through five and do it consistently every single night against the very best.”