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Few players in this year’s NBA Draft have the raw power and athleticism that Bam Adebayo was gifted. To the surprise of few Kentucky fans, he is catching serious attention with his performance in team workouts and seems to be improving his stock in a big way.
Bam projects as a hyper athletic and energetic big man who will be able to rebound and score in the pick and roll for NBA teams. Concerns over his height at the position and ability to stretch the floor have been, until recently, holding him back in the mock drafts.
Fresh off workouts this weekend with the Denver Nuggets and Charlotte Hornets, Bam is showing that his perceived weaknesses may not be so weak after all. The Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell reported that Bam drained 13 of 25 threes from NBA range this afternoon for his hometown Hornets.
It was important for him to prove in these workouts that he isn’t just an undersized center, but someone who can both bang on the block and stretch the floor. He is getting the job done leading up to Thursday night’s draft.
Kentucky center Bam Adebayo just made 13 of 25 NBA 3-pointers. Wow!
— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) June 18, 2017
“I’ve been shooting the ball since I was close to 12 years old,” Bam replied when asked whether or not his jumper was a recent development. “I wasn’t asked to do it at Kentucky because we all played our parts, we all sacrificed certain stuff. At these workouts I can show them what I can do.” The full three minute interview was posted on the Hornet’s Twitter.
Though Jeff Goodman is still relatively low on Bam’s stock, others have become bullish. DraftExpress.com has just moved Bam from 24th on their board up to the Pacer’s selection at 18 — an impressive jump on a mock that placed him as low as 32nd on May 25th.
NBADraft.net slots Bam just ahead at #17 to the Bucks, while ESPN’s Chad Ford recently had the Wildcat going 20th overall to the Trail Blazers, who have 3 picks in the first round alone.
It was only a few weeks ago that it seemed Bam was going to have to fight just to stay in the first round. Now, if he keeps trending upward, he could be in play to receive a lottery pick this Thursday.