Miami Heat's Star Tandem Ranked In Elite Territory Ahead Of NBA Season

Anthony Pasciolla | 11 Hours Ago

Dec 31, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) and center/forward Bam Adebayo (13) talk before a free-throw shot against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images / Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images

The duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo gives the Miami Heat the best shot to come out of the Eastern Conference on top.

Despite the tandem entering next season at completely different stages of their careers, their two NBA Finals appearances together make it difficult to count them out. CBS Sports recently published their list of the top 100 NBA players, where Butler and Adebayo were part of exclusive company.

The Heat were one of just five teams with two or more players in the top 25, alongside the Philadelphia 76ers (3), Boston Celtics (2), Los Angeles Lakers (2), and Dallas Mavericks (2).

Butler took a steep fall in CBS' rankings, coming in at No. 22 compared to last year's No. 9 placement.

"Butler is what he is: A great player who paces himself in the regular season in order to produce superstar postseason stretches. The stats fill every column and the impact always adds up," CBS' Brad Botkin wrote.

Alternatively, Adebayo is entering the peak of his career at 27 years old. Still, he fell a few slots from No. 20 to 23.

"The player we know Adebayo be to be is an automatic top-25 selection," CBS' Sam Quinn wrote. "He's been a full-time starter for five years and he's never missed an All-Defense selection in that span. He's a great passer who might actually get appreciated for it if he wasn't living in the Jokic era."

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Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.