[4] Adebayo attended Northside High School in Pinetown, North Carolina, where, as a junior, he averaged 32.2 points and 21 rebounds a game.

[5] Later that summer Adebayo competed at the NBPA Top 100 Camp and was named MVP at the 2015 Under Armour Elite 24 game.

On December 29, he posted 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 91–63 victory over De'Aaron Fox and Cypress Lakes High School.

[16] As the number one seed entering the SEC tournament, Kentucky would defeat Georgia in the quarterfinals and beat Alabama in the semifinals.

On March 12, 2017, Adebayo grabbed nine rebounds to help the Wildcats defeat Arkansas 82–65 and win the SEC Championship.

In the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Adebayo recorded 10 rebounds to help Kentucky defeat Wichita State.

[19] On July 1, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Heat,[20] and joined the team for the 2017 NBA Summer League.

On December 10, 2019, Adebayo recorded his first career triple-double with a career-high 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 135–121 overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks.

[25][26] On December 14, he had his second career triple-double in a 122–118 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks, scoring 18 points with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

He scored a playoff career high 32 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out 5 assists in the decisive 125–113 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

[37] Teammate Jimmy Butler posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, making them the first pair in league history to register triple-doubles in the same game more than once.

On May 21, 2022, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Adebayo recorded 31 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the field along with 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in a 109–103 win over the Boston Celtics.

He also joined LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as the only players in Heat history to record at least 20 playoff double-doubles.

[50] In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Adebayo posted a near triple-double with 22 points, 17 rebounds and 9 assists in a 111–105 win over the Boston Celtics.

He became the 3rd player in Heat postseason history with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in a playoff game, joining LeBron James (4x) and Shaquille O'Neal.

This was his 23rd career playoff double-double, passing Dwyane Wade (22) and trailing only LeBron James (31) for second most in Heat history.

[54] On November 6, 2023, Adebayo put up a triple-double with 22 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists along with two steals and two blocks in a 108–107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

[57] On March 17, Adebayo put up 20 points, 17 rebounds, along with a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer in a 104–101 win over the Detroit Pistons.

[61] On February 1, 2025, Adebayo recorded 30 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, two steals, three blocks and hit a 19-foot game-winning buzzer beater against the San Antonio Spurs.