Bam Adebayo Undergoes Thumb Surgery, Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks

DECEMBER 7: Adebayo underwent surgery on Monday to repair the torn UCL in his right thumb and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, the Heat confirmed today (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 1: Heat big man Bam Adebayo has sustained a torn UCL in his right thumb, according to a press release from the team. Adebayo will undergo surgery on the injury this weekend and has been ruled out indefinitely.

The Heat will have a better sense of Adebayo’s potential recovery timeline once the procedure is complete. The expectation for now is that he’ll be sidelined for approximately six weeks, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski suggests (via Twitter) that a four-to-six week recovery is possible, but Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes notes (via Twitter) that no player has come back in less than five weeks from an in-season torn UCL repair.

Adebayo, 24, is the anchor of Miami’s defense and one of the team’s go-to scorers. In 18 games (32.9 MPG) so far this season, he has averaged 18.7 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG with a .519 FG%.

The Heat have had bad injury luck against Denver so far this season. Forward Markieff Morris hasn’t played since the November 8 meeting between the two teams, having suffered whiplash when he was hit from behind by Nikola Jokic. Adebayo tore the UCL in his thumb during the Heat’s rematch vs. the Nuggets on Monday.

Morris and Dewayne Dedmon, who is currently day-to-day with a knee injury, would see an uptick in minutes during Adebayo’s absence if they’re available. P.J. Tucker could also take on an increased role, a backup big man like Udonis Haslem or Omer Yurtseven could start playing regular minutes.