Contract extension? Check. Olympic gold? Check. Next up for Heat’s Bam Adebayo… starring?

MIAMI – It was a summer spent with the best men of this NBA generation, sharing gold with LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant at the Olympic Games in Paris.

“That’s one of the most historic things I’ve ever done, being part of a team that’s been compared to the Dream Team,” Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo said this week, a month after playing with a roster so talented it drew apt comparisons to the Team USA roster at the 1992 Olympics that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

So yes, the Heat captain was very moved by this enduring greatness.

“You can’t find words for LeBron, KD and Steph being on the court together, not competing against each other, but competing for one goal: winning,” the Heat big man continued.

“When you see it with your own eyes every day, it’s a different kind of game, to be able to be part of a team where you have three guys that are definitely going to be the first in the Hall of Fame.”

Now, less than three weeks before the start of his eighth training camp, and with the Olympic glow still lingering, Adebayo is considering another thing: whether what follows is his own chance to become a leading man.

Jimmy Butler turns 35 on Saturday and is nearing the end of his career. At 24, Tyler Herro is still finding his way. And then there’s Adebayo, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who at 27 is in the sweet spot of his Heat career.

Since Paris, since he stood alone among Heat players on such an international stage, the question has been asked immediately. He’s seen it coming, knows it will happen on Sept. 30 at media day at Kaseya Center before the team leaves for training camp at the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas.

“I think a lead guy isn’t just a scorer,” said Adebayo, whose career high scoring average was 20.4 in 2022-23, followed by 19.3 last season. “I think everybody, when they think of a lead guy, they think of scoring.

“I think that’s not the only thing a leading actor can do.”

He did not say he would object to a higher usage frequency.

“Do you want to wake up now and get 30 every night? I think everyone would do that individually, just because it’s part of the game,” he added. “But for me, being a leading player is just winning, whatever that looks like.

“Winning gives people a story to tell.”

Ah, the talk about how Adebayo needs to shoot and make more 3-pointers, an argument that brings the best-man debate back to the scoring, even though Butler never topped his 22.9 scoring average from ’22-23 during his five-year tenure with the Heat.

“For me, there’s always something to look at and get better at, as a captain, as the head of the snake,” said Adebayo, who took over the Heat captaincy last season after Udonis Haslem retired. “On the court, I’m always trying to improve on everything. It’s not one specific thing.

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“Of course, everyone’s going to point out the 3-point shots. But for me, it’s just like decision-making, it’s where you have to be able to make a play, you have to be able to read the game.”

Still, there were some notable 3-point moments from Adebayo during the Olympics. So yes, that focus is already there.

“Everybody’s going to look at our 3-point shots and think, ‘Oh, you’ve been working on that,'” he said. “Of course I am. It’s time for development. Every great player wants to develop into a three-level scorer. And that’s what I’m trying to be.”

So, to recap: An offseason that started with a three-year, $166 million extension that keeps him under contract through 2028-29, and then earned the respect of players like James, Curry and Durant in Paris as a gold medal equivalent.

And now, higher expectations.

Including the question of whether a new era of Heat leading players is on the horizon along the lines of Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Butler.

“For me,” Adebayo said of the challenge, “a leading man means winning.”