Bam Adebayo: "Amazing to experience such an NBA season"

Bam Adebayo performing his now legendary counter during an attempt to dunk Jayson Tatum, in the NBA play-offs.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Text by: Michaël Oliveira Da Costa

6 min

Pillar of the Miami Heat, the sensation team of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, the American pivot of Nigerian origin Edrice Femi "Bam" Adebayo explodes in broad daylight in the Orlando bubble.

Selected for the All Star Game last February, then retained in the second best defensive team of the season, Adebayo still has one goal in mind for this unique 2020-2021 financial year: to win his first NBA title.

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Bam Adebayo:

Yes, it's just amazing to experience such a season.

I'm working hard to be there, but I didn't think all of these good things could happen so early in my career.

I am still very young, but I am not afraid of having responsibilities.

I stay focused because there are still, I hope, two or three weeks of competition, but I am really very happy.

I talk every day with my friends and family, and I am like a kid in a candy store: I am like crazy to have this experience and to be able to represent mine at the highest level.

We have one game left to go to the NBA Finals, and then it's the home stretch to reach my dream: to win an NBA title.

You grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, a city known for its very high crime rate, and then in North Carolina.

You were born to an American mother and a Nigerian father.

What was the impact of African culture in your childhood, and in your life until now

Naija

I am very proud of my Nigerian origins, and I carry this heritage with me all the time, not just by my name which leaves no doubt about my origins! 

I mostly lived with my mother, but my link with African culture, and Nigerian especially, is present in me, through food, through members of my family on my father's side, but also because I '' often talks about it with other Africans in the NBA, as well as one of my teammates in Miami, Gabe Vincent Nmadi, who is the second-back for the Nigeria national team.

Your duel with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the previous round, who has just been voted best player of the season (MVP) for the second year in a row, and who shares with you a common bond - his Nigerian origins -, was titanic.

What does it mean to you?

Giannis is a reference, he is a role model for many people and I have immense respect for him.

He won a second MVP trophy this season, and it's deserved.

He is the leader of a team that has moved to the next level, which is one of the very best in the NBA for many years to come.

He is building his legend, and he can do almost anything on the pitch.

We talk to each other from time to time, and after the series against the Bucks, he said to me, " 

 He said that to me, it touched me a lot, coming from a guy as humble and hardworking as him, it's really super nice.

He's one of the players I struggle against the most in defense because he's not afraid of contact and hitting the racket, and he has such long arms ...

He's always a big one. challenge to play against him, but I like that kind of challenge because it helps me progress faster.

Your counter on Jayson Tatum in Game 1 of the conference finals marked the spirits, especially that of Magic Johnson who considers him to be the most incredible defensive action he has ever seen in the play-offs.

How did you react to this

It was a huge cons, and my hand remembered it for hours after the game!

I didn't have too much sensitivity on two of my fingers for long hours after that counter, but you can say it was worth it.

Magic Johnson touched me a lot with his comment.

It's not every day that a legend compliments you.

So I took it very well.

A lot of people have said good things to me about this counter, but I think it will be really decisive if we qualify for the NBA Finals.

We're one step away from the NBA Finals, but nothing is done yet.

If we do not manage to qualify for the NBA Finals, this counter will have served no purpose, and will only be a milestone for ... Internet.

.

You are often seen talking with other players of Nigerian descent in the NBA, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Oladipo, OG Anunoby and Semi Ojeleye ....

Yes it's true, but I also speak with other African players in the NBA, and that is very important to me.

We're like a family.

We are a bit like brothers with a large part of them, that's for sure.

We exchange a lot, we support each other, and we also give each other advice.

We want to leave our mark on the league, and try to follow in the footsteps of glorious elders, like Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo, for example.

When you see what guys like

,

and Victor Oladipo are doing, you can only be enthusiastic about the future.

I think that the number of African players will continue to grow, and that the contingent in the NBA will be more and more important very quickly.

Interview by our correspondent in New York,

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