Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo Discusses Olympic Plans And Goals

The two-time Olympian will be looking to defend his gold medal in Paris next month. He has set different goals and wants to capture the essence of the Olympic games.

Aug 7, 2021; Saitama, Japan; France shooting guard Nando de Colo (12) shoots the ball against United States center Bam Adebayo (13) in the men's basketball gold medal game during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Saitama Super Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo feels getting ready for the Olympics is a completely different from the NBA season.

He will compete for the second time next month in Paris.

"Obviously you are going into a different situation, it's a different style of play," Adebayo said. "Going into it, its not about yourself, its bigger than you. Also, you are not doing it for a city or a region, you are doing it for your country. You get outside yourself and everybody lets their egos out and focus on that."

Adebayo said even though the United States players are looked at as the best team in the world, they check their egos at the door. The focus in winning the gold medal.

"Winning the gold means it doesn't matter who scores the most, or who rebounds the most," Adebayo said. "At the end you want to get a gold medal for your country.

The Olympians practice four times before facing Canada in an exhibition game before pool play begins. Adebayo thinks it's enough to prepare.

"I feel like we have played against each other enough to where you understand what everybody's skill sets are," Adebayo said. "You kind of mix that. We are the 12 best players so it's pretty easy to figure out."

Adebayo said winning gold with coach Erik Spoelstra on staff would make it even more special. Spoelstra is one of Steve Kerr's assistants.

"I think it would be dope," Adebayo said. "Because its not about yourself. I'll have my coach there with me and Spo is obviously one of those people that doesn't want the credit. It would be dope to share that minute with your coach and go get gold and share that moment."

Scott Salomon is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at scottsalomon67@gmail.com