Me, and I give Draymond and probably Giannis" - Miami Heat's 3x All-Defensive selection includes himself in one of three most versatile defenders in NBA

Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo is one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA. He can guard multiple positions on the floor.

The 25-year old has already made three All-Defensive teams through five NBA seasons. In an interview with NBA.com, the Miami Heat star spoke about his elite defensive capabilities. He told Couper Moorhead:

"I feel like I’m damn near the only guy. Me, and I give Draymond [Green] and probably Giannis, three guys who can literally guard 1-through-5 and be effective."

"Switch on to a Kyrie [Irving]. Switch onto KD [Kevin Durant]. Switch onto Joel Embiid. The thing about guards winning it is they don’t be down there. They don’t be in that semi-circle."

While he may consider himself in the same conversation as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Draymond Green, Adebayo has never won Defensive Player of the Year. Antetokounmpo is a one-time DPOY (2020) winner while Green won the award in 2017. Adebayo is determined to fill this gap in his resume. Winning DPOY matters to him because:

"Just because I came into the league as a defensive guy. That’s how I got onto the court. That’s how I made my name. It started with that first clip of me defending Steph [Curry] and it just took off from there.

"To the point where Spo [Erik Spoelstra] would put me on the primary scorer – one game he would say, ‘We’re playing Houston, you’re starting on Russell [Westbrook]’. Next game in L.A. he’d put me on Kawhi Leonard or PG [Paul George]. It was just building that trust to where I could, in my mind, be Defensive Player of the Year. In my mind, I’ve proved that."

"I don't want it honorary," says Miami Heat defensive anchor Bam Adebayo about the opportunity to win DPOY

Despite the general appreciation for his defensive game, Adebayo is clearly upset that he has not won the award. He feels he should have already won it when he had "started guarding point guards". But the Miami Heat forward is clear about one thing. He doesn't want the accolade to be an honorary career achievement. He said:

"That’s right. I don’t want it honorary. Nah. Imma win this s***. Last year they said it was because of my missed games. But if you look at the stats. My stats are up there with everyone else. I missed X amount of games but my stats are damn near everyone else’s, and you’re going to tell me I can’t win it? And then I’m not a finalist, or First Team [All Defense]?"

Adebayo has put winning the defensive award as one of the most important goals of his career. When asked how he would define a successful season, the Miami Heat center said:

"DPOY. All-Star. All-NBA. I feel like I have that type of ability, that type of blessed talent to do that in a season."

You can read the full Bam Adebayo interview on NBA.com here.