Bam Adebayo to Sign Huge Three-Year Contract Extension With Heat, per Report

The Miami center has been named to four All-Defense teams in seven seasons.

Apr 29, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) looks for a foul call during the first quarter against the Boston Celtics / Michael Laughlin-USA TODAY Sports

All-Star center Bam Adebayo, fresh off his first season being named to the NBA All-Defensive first team, will sign a three-year contract extension with the Miami Heat, AP's Tim Reynolds reported on Wednesday.

Shortly thereafter, Shams Charania reported for The Athletic that Adebayo's extension is expected to be worth $166 million.

Adebayo just finished up the third season of a five-year contract worth $163 million.

The news comes as a bit of a surprise. Adebayo is two years away from free agency, so there was no rush. More importantly, the center could have qualified for a max contract worth nearly $350 million if he won Defensive Player of the Year or was named to an All-NBA team in 2024-25. Players of Adebayo's caliber are not often willing to give up even the slimmest of shots at that kind of money.

But this deal certainly elevates Adebayo to a high-end salary structure. His three-year extension will pay him over $50 million annually once it kicks in following the 2025-26 season.

And the Heat have to be pleased about the deal. Adebayo is one of the best defensive players in the NBA and, at this stage, Miami's best overall player with Jimmy Butler entering his age-35 season. The former Kentucky Wildcat averaged 19.3 points and 10.4 rebounds to go along with 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in 2023-24. Adebayo finished third in DPOY voting and was named to his fifth consecutive All-Defense team.

He has his limitations offensively, but there are few players capable of anchoring an elite defense like Adebayo. Plus, at only 27 years old, there's still more room to grow on the that side of the ball.

The Heat now have one cornerstone locked down for the near and far future. The question is what they'll do next. Rumors persist that Butler is also looking for long-term security in the form of a contract extension after a down year for himself and the team. Key swingman Caleb Martin is reportedly expected to opt out of his contract and enter free agency later this week. There are many big decisions to be made, and that's without even getting into Wednesday's NBA draft in which the Heat hold the 15th pick.

Regardless of what choices are made, Adebayo is in South Beach for the long run.