Heat star Bam Adebayo draws ‘overrated’ claim from former Miami coach appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Miami Heat spent the offseason reshaping their roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, but one former Heat head coach is not buying the hype. Stan Van Gundy, who led Miami from 2003 to 2005, offered a skeptical preview of the team and singled out Adebayo.
“I’m not as high on Miami as a lot of people are,” Van Gundy said in a podcast guesting. “They did go out and add some shooting around those guys, but the shooting that they added compromises them badly at the defensive end of the floor.”
Stan Van Gundy is OUT on the Miami Heat and says Bam Adebayo is overrated 😳
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“I’m not as high on Miami as people are… The shooting they added compromises them badly on the defensive end of the floor. Even though he was great last year, I’m not sold on Davion Mitchell as a full… pic.twitter.com/qBYPydyEHv
— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) October 15, 2026
Miami acquired Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis from the Milwaukee Bucks in late June, sending Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis the other way. The Heat later signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and Klay Thompson to add perimeter shooting.
Van Gundy also questioned the backcourt and the health of the team’s new star.
“Even though he was great last year, I’m not sold on Davion Mitchell as a full-time starting point guard on that team with Giannis,” Van Gundy said. “Giannis is another guy. We talk about all these guys with their health. This guy’s broken down badly over the last few years. I don’t see them as one of the top teams in the East.”
He added that he would be a little surprised if Miami finished in the top six, calling the Heat a play-in staple. He credited Erik Spoelstra as one of the league’s best coaches, if not the best, but argued the team has been mediocre in the regular season for a long time.
“I like the addition of Hardaway, Klay,” Van Gundy said. “I think Wiggins is a little underrated, but I think Bam is a little overrated, particularly at the offensive end of the floor.”
The critique comes months after Adebayo’s historic scoring night. He poured in 83 points against the Washington Wizards in March, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history. Miami still made the play-in for a fourth straight season.
Adebayo has already pushed back on the doubters. Speaking on The Makeshift Podcast, he called it crazy that people still viewed Miami as a play-in team after landing Antetokounmpo and Thompson.
The Heat open the regular season on Oct. 21 at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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