MIAMI _ The uniqueness and sense of pride is in the playmaking. Bam Adebayo has led the Miami Heat in assists in nearly a third of their games this season. So, no, he is not your typical 6-foot-9, 255-pound center.
But sometimes that means turning back the aggression, making the mistake of becoming, at worst, passive, or at least too selfless.
That's what had teammates nodding knowing nods after Sunday night's 100-89 victory over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
No, not because Adebayo led the Heat in assists for the 20th time this season, just six games shy of Jimmy Butler's team lead. But rather than when Butler was lost in the third quarter with a foot injury, Adebayo went into attack mode, closing with 27 points, just the eighth time he has led the Heat in scoring this season.
"He's really tough to guard, just one on one," backup center Kelly Olynyk said. "And I think sometimes he just losses sight of that, and tries to, obviously, facilitate and have the offense go through him, But a lot of times we need him to score and keep defenses honest for us."
(Most Read Heat Coverage) Heat's Jae Crowder expects Wednesday return from concussion �
So attack it was.
Surprisingly, instinctively.
"Just making plays down the stretch and trying to be a leader on this team," Adebayo said modestly.
It was, of course, no time for modesty, not with point guard Goran Dragic on the bench in foul trouble and forward Jae Crowder in the NBA concussion protocol.
So this time Adebayo read and reacted with decisiveness, decisiveness he said has been growing since the offseason trade of Hassan Whiteside to the Portland Trail Blazers made it clear there would be room and time to expand his game.
It doesn't mean it has to be that way, and certainly could change when the Heat return to the court Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena, when Butler and Crowder are expected to return.
But it can.
"The game tells you when those moments occur," Crowder said of Adebayo stepping up Sunday. "If you go into it predetermined, that's when it can be looked down upon. I just felt like the game told him to do that."
"He has it in him to be a top player, to be a closing player in this league."
To forward Andre Iguodala, Sunday was a display of knowing when to make the ensemble approach more of a singular enterprise, similar how his championship Golden State Warriors created such moments with himself, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.
"I think it's part of like a maturation," Iguodala said. "It won't just happen in one day. It happens through growing pains, it happens through experience. You see one thing one day and that might spark something that might happen in a year. You have different moments. You never know when it can help you in key moments.
"And I think the last couple of years he was in the league, he has more confidence. He's understanding what he can do in the game. He's got more confidence. He's understanding what we can do in the games."
It is a respect that has transcended his own locker room, receiving a signed jersey after Sunday's game from Wizards guard Bradley Beal that read, "A real one! Keep grinding. Humble. Hungry."
It was a gesture that Beal said was merited, "I respect him every way, for sure."
That made the night even more real for Adebayo.
"It's great coming from a guy that's been in the league as long as him, one of the top scorers in the league," he said. "It's great to know you earned his respect and you just keep earning respect from guys like that."
