Giannis Antetokounmpo’s new start to life with the Miami Heat has been a major disappointment so far.
After years of speculation, Giannis Antetokounmpo was finally traded by the Milwaukee Bucks. He joined the Miami Heat, with the hope that he would reinvigorate their franchise.
Antetokounmpo and the Heat looked sharp in preseason, with Kendrick Perkins comparing Giannis’ move to LeBron James’ 2010 switch to Miami,
The reality has been very different. The Heat lost their fourth successive game to start the season, defeated 109-113 by the Dallas Mavericks (2-2).
Speaking postgame, Giannis was asked directly whether he was surprised by the team’s winless start. He admitted to being a little taken aback.
Giannis said: “Am I surprised? I think a little bit, a little bit surprised. But there’s 78 more games to go. We just got to keep on getting better.”
When asked about the difference from preseason, he simply noted that the competition was tougher and his team must raise their game accordingly.
He said: “Obviously, regular season is better than the preseason, and the playoffs are better than the regular season, as you guys know. We just got to keep on getting better, take each game at a time, and we’re going to figure it out.”
The Heat’s latest defeat came on the night his former team the Bucks won their first game of the season, defeating the Pacers to move to 1-3.
They face the Hawks, Pacers, Lakers and Clippers over their next four games.
Are the Heat going over/under 46.5 wins, and why?
Miami Heat have gone backwards
In comparison to last season, the Miami Heat have already regressed. They went 3-1 to start 2025-26, narrowly losing their opener.
The only positive to Miami’s losses are that the margin of defeat is coming down. After blowouts against the Timberwolves and the Pistons, they have lost by nine points combined to the Hornets and Mavericks.
The big problem for the Miami Heat was that in making the trade for Giannis, they had to give up so much to get the deal done. It was not just future assets, but actual players capable of contributing and scoring points to support Giannis.
Is this Heat roster substantially better than the one he left in Milwaukee? Early evidence suggests not, while new teammate Bam Adebayo is being urged to play at a higher level after his uninspiring start to the season.
Adebayo is averaging a lowly 13.0 ppg, which is not going to be enough as a second scorer despite Giannis’ consistently strong output.
Giannis added: “I’m trying to figure it out, but I got to figure it out aggressively. You know, I think that’s the only way. Hopefully everybody has the same mindset, but not just offense, forget offense, defense, we have to be better.”
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