Why NBA’s new 65-game rule affects Heat’s Bam Adebayo more than most and what he thinks about it

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo doesn’t like missing games. If Adebayo is healthy enough, he will play. But this season, there’s added motivation for Adebayo to play in as many games as he can.

With Adebayo passing on the opportunity to sign a two-year $97 million extension this past offseason, the next window for him to sign an extension with the Heat will open this upcoming summer when he will be able to sign a contract worth more money than the one he could have signed this past offseason.

But how much more?

Adebayo, who currently is under contract through the 2025-26 season, will become eligible to sign a four-year, $245 million extension this upcoming offseason if he meets the supermax criteria. But if Adebayo doesn’t qualify for the supermax, he will instead be eligible for a three-year contract worth $152 million.

That’s where games played become a factor, as Adebayo needs to reach the league’s new 65-game threshold in order to have a chance at meeting the criteria for the supermax deal. For players to become eligible for postseason awards that trigger the supermax, they must play in at least 65 regular-season games or play in at least 62 regular-season games before sustaining a season-ending injury and have played in at least 85 percent of the regular-season games played by his team prior to that injury.

It’s worth noting that a player will be considered to have played in a regular-season game if he played at least 20 minutes in that game, but a player can count two games in which he fell short of 20 minutes toward the 65 if he played at least 15 minutes.

“Obviously, the money is great, but I don’t like missing games anyway,” Adebayo said ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. “I love doing this. I know it’s a job. But for some guys in this league, it’s more than money because for a large portion of our lives, we were playing for free and that’s where you got the love for the game.

“I don’t get too caught up into the numbers and all that. I just know stuff will take care of itself. That will happen if I don’t miss games. So for me, man, it’s just great to be out here, a joy to be with my teammates. It’s fun basketball, especially when we’re playing the right way.”

For a player to qualify for a supermax extension, he must be entering his eighth or ninth season in the NBA (Adebayo will be entering his eighth in 2024-25) and have either:

1. Been named to an All-NBA team (first, second or third) in either the season immediately before signing the extension or both of the two seasons that preceded the most recent season.

2. Been named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in either the season immediately before signing the extension or both of the two seasons that preceded the most recent season.

3. Been named NBA MVP at least once in the previous three seasons.

Adebayo, 26, has never been named to an All-NBA team, selected as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year or won the NBA MVP award. But he’s expected to at least be in the All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year discussions this season.

The issue is Adebayo can’t miss many more games if he wants to have a chance to earn one of those honors and qualify for a supermax extension. He has already missed 10 games this season with a left hip contusion, recently returning from injury in mid-December, and he only logged 12 minutes in one of the games he did appear in so it doesn’t count toward the 65 games needed.

That leaves Adebayo with a maximum of six more games he can miss this regular season to remain eligible for NBA postseason awards and the more expensive supermax extension.

“You’re definitely aware of that because that’s generational wealth at the end of the day,” Adebayo said of the possibility of earning a supermax deal with the Heat. “But we know the number, we know what it is and I know I’ve already missed 10 games. I got [six] left. But you handle those [six] with caution.”

Adebayo entered Wednesday averaging career highs in points (22 per game) and rebounds (10.4 per game) while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 77.7 percent from the foul line on a career-high 7.8 free-throw attempts per game in his seventh NBA season this season. He’s one of four players who entered Wednesday averaging at least 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per game this season, along with Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Even though the NBA’s new 65-game threshold affects Adebayo more than most, he’s a supporter of the new rule if it works to encourage players to appear in more regular-season games.

“For guys to play because we’ve had situations where they feel like they don’t want to play in this league,” Adebayo said of why he likes the 65-game rule. “But for the sake of that, I like that we have a rule even though we shouldn’t have a rule for guys to get out here and hoop. Obviously, a lot of us think about it differently. But for me, I think it’s a good rule because you get the best competition every day and there is no taking nights off. You get some days where guys are just banged up, sore and they need one. It’s a long season. But I feel like around a 17-, 18-game [bufffer], that’s more than enough time.”