10
Loading video...
By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Count Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo is among those who wouldn't put basketball legend LeBron James on his all-time NBA players list.
Adebayo was recently awarded the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, the NBA's social justice award for players serving the community. Before he received the award, Adebayo responded to questions from students at his basketball camp.
One student asked him to name his all-time top five NBA players, without including himself. After thinking about it briefly, Adebayo said, "Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, and Tim Duncan."
Read More on NBA
That final answer came amid some students in the background yelling for him to say "LeBron" or other basketball stars, but he didn't waver with his picks. It's also a highly subjective list, and worth noting that he didn't include his new teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo in the picks either.
More news: Anfernee Simons Shares Reaction to 76ers Signing LeBron James
...
It's hard to argue against Adebayo's picks, since he has five all-time greats included. Four of his picks won championships while sticking with one team. KD won two after joining the Golden State Warriors to team up with Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.
With James also moving between teams, many would contend that James belongs in the actual list of the five greatest basketball players of all time. He's toppled records initially set by the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, including the all-time points scored list. James currently sits at 43,440 points in his career.
This offseason, James had his pick among any NBA team he wanted to go to, but ultimately opted for the Philadelphia 76ers, spurning other top suitors, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and Adebayo's Heat.
Adebayo made history of his own last season, going off for 83 points in a Heat game. He and his newest All-Star teammate, the Greek Freak, will have to battle it out with the 76ers in what should be an intriguing Eastern Conference. Other top contenders could include the reigning champion New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics, and the Detroit Pistons.
As of this writing, the Heat hold the sixth-best odds to win the Eastern Conference at +1000 and fall just a spot below the top 10 teams when it comes to odds to win the NBA championship at +3000.
More news: Dylan Harper Opens up on Victor Wembanyama as Spurs Teammate
For more about the Miami Heat and the NBA, head over to Newsweek Sports.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines