NBA: Heat star Bam Adebayo exits protocol, available vs Hawks in Game 1
Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat is fouled by Onyeka Okongwu #17 of the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at FTX Arena on April 08, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFP
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocol on Saturday.
“He’s back,” tweeted the top-seeded Heat, who open the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs at home Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks.
Adebayo, 24, missed the regular season finale against the Orlando Magic on April 10 after entering the COVID-19 protocol.
Adebayo told The Athletic he was asymptomatic and that he expects to be on the court Sunday.
He averaged a career-high 19.1 points to go with 10.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 56 games (all starts) in his fifth season in 2021-22.
A first-round pick in 2017 and an All-Star in 2019-20, he owns career averages of 13.5 points and 8.3 boards in 343 games (239 starts) with the Heat.
