BamAdebayo

Preseason question: How will Bam fit beside Giannis Antetokounmpo? Giannis’s frontcourt partners have typically been able to knock down 3s, drag opposing big men out of the paint, and widen driving lanes. One might call that skill set a nonnegotiable building block for any team that wants to win at a high level with the two-time MVP as its best player (hence Milwaukee’s catastrophic decision to waive and stretch Damian Lillard so that it could afford to replace Brook Lopez with Myles Turner). There’s a chance that Adebayo will hone a respectable 3-point shot that’s able to draw interior defenders out to the perimeter, but, to date, we’ve never seen him do it. Of 98 players who’ve attempted at least 600 3s in the past two seasons, Adebayo ranks 89th in accuracy. (Bam entered the 2024-25 season having attempted only 104 3s in his entire career.) There are other things Adebayo can do to help Giannis, like run fast breaks, set screens, crash the offensive glass, and be a bona fide lob threat—but the duo’s ability to coexist for major minutes is a major question mark.