Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
Last year, at the age of 22, Bam Adebayo made his first All-Star team, was an eyelash away from winning Most Improved Player and ended his season as the second-best player on a Finals runner-up.
All he’s done in 2021 is get even better while hoarding more responsibility on both sides of the ball for a team no contender wants to face in the playoffs.