When Reid asked about the possibility of earning votes for this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, All-Defensive first team and Most Improved Player award, Adebayo said: “I want them all.” “But the one that I would say that sticks out the most is probably first-team All-Defense,” he admitted, “just because I came into the league being a defender and an energy guy and just working on my game to be able to play on both sides of the court. Coach gives me new challenges like guarding the best player on every team even though he’s not a big. Guarding point guards, guarding slashers, guarding the superstar. That’s just the level of respect I earned from my head coach, my teammates and other players.”