Second chances might not come around very often, but Bam Adebayo got one.
Adebayo accepted an invitation to play for USA Basketball in the Tokyo Olympics, reuniting the Miami Heat center with San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich.
Two summers ago, Popovich, in the same role of USA Basketball coach that he holds for the Olympics, cut Adebayo from the national team for the 2019 World Cup.
In retrospect, Popovich later acknowledged, "I've shaken my head several times," with Adebayo having gone on to All-Star and NBA All-Defensive selections. "He's a different player now than what we was at all the tryouts."
And yet, among the reasons that Popovich said Adebayo was cut in 2019 was the type of passive, deferential play that also hurt the Heat in this season's NBA playoffs, when the Heat were swept 4-0 by the Milwaukee Bucks.
"He probably deferred more than he needed to," Popovich said of the 2019 USA Basketball tryout. "He probably was a little unsure of himself, that kind of thing. He was maybe too polite, maybe not ready for the occasion at that particular time."
A more aggressive bent this time around with the national team also would send an encouraging signal ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season, which will be the first on the max-scale five-year extension Adebayo signed with the Heat in November.
Among others who reportedly have accepted invitations for the 12-player USA Basketball roster for the Olympics are Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Nets guard James Harden.
Adebayo's commitment comes a week after Heat teammate Jimmy Butler bypassed an invitation to join the Olympic team. Heat guard Duncan Robinson remains in the pool for the one of the remaining 12 berths on the USA entry. Sidelined Heat guard Victor Oladipo also had been in the USA Basketball Olympic pool, but is recovering from season-ending quadriceps surgery.
Among those who also have bypassed Olympic invitations are LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell and Stephen Curry.
After being delayed a year because of the covid-19 pandemic, the Olympics open on July 29, with the basketball competition running through Aug. 7.
For Adebayo, who turns 23 on July 18, participation means a month with the national team, starting July 6 in Las Vegas, before heading overseas. NBA training camps then are scheduled to open Sept. 28.
While the Heat's first-round playoff elimination has somewhat allowed Adebayo to recharge, with that series against the Bucks ending on May 29, the Olympic schedule nonetheless continues a whirlwind.
Adebayo played in the Heat's run to the 2020 NBA Finals at the Disney World quarantine bubble that did not end until Oct. 11, returned for the start of training camp less than two months later, and then helped lead the Heat's push to a No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Covid-19 testing, similar to what NBA players endured this past season, is expected to be part of the Olympic process.
Compounding the selection process is an NBA schedule delayed by the pandemic, one that has the Finals running through late July. Because of that timing, as well as the timing for when binding 12-player Olympic rosters must be submitted, players participating in the NBA Finals may have to be bypassed by the selection committee, with Team USA already scheduled for pre-Olympic exhibitions during that timeframe. That likely will impact the possible participation of Booker.
With Popovich serving as head coach, Team USA will be assisted by Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, former Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova coach Jay Wright.
The United States has won the past four Olympic competitions and will enter ranked No. 1 by FIBA, the sport's international governing body.
Since NBA players began representing the United States in 1992, Team USA is 53-3 in seven Olympics, capturing six gold medals and one bronze.
In addition to the United States, Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and host Japan have already qualified for the Olympic competition. Four additional teams will join the pool through last-chance qualification tournaments.
For the first round, Team USA was drawn into Group A alongside 2019 FIBA World Cup bronze medalist France, 2017 Asia Cup runner-up Iran and the to-be-determined winner of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria, Canada.