Giannis ready for next chapter of career with Heat: ‘It was a no-brainer. I wanted to be here’
Through all the regular-season and playoff battles against the Miami Heat when he was on the Milwaukee Bucks’ roster, two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has always been curious about what it would be like to be on the Heat’s side.
“I think from the first battle that we had and from the first years I played in the NBA, I always had huge respect for the Miami Heat organization,” Antetokounmpo said during his introductory news conference with the Heat on Thursday at Kaseya Center. “And around the league, we, as players, we speak, we talk, and you always hear about the Miami Heat culture and that guys work hard, guys are very disciplined, guys are very driven, and guys are very selfless and give everything that they can to win games. And I was always curious what makes them so unique.”
After the Heat sent four players and a haul of draft capital to the Bucks to land Antetokounmpo and veteran forward Bobby Portis this offseason, Antetokounmpo, 31, will finally get his answer. The Heat is also already starting to learn what sets Antetokounmpo apart from the rest following just a few initial conversations.
“The first call that I had with Giannis when we could speak,” Heat president Pat Riley said Thursday. “It wasn’t long, but I felt and heard the conviction in his voice about the same things that I wanted, that [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra] wants, that the Arison family wants. He just talked about winning. We didn’t have to throw a bunch of bouquets at one another. It was business right on that phone call. He wants to win, and he wants to win big. We’re not here guaranteeing anything. But we want to win.”
Antetokounmpo is desperate to win after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
“I just enjoy basketball. I enjoy the challenge. I enjoy getting better,” said Antetokounmpo, who won one NBA championship with the Bucks in 2021. “Obviously, I’ve accomplished a lot of things in my career. But one of my goals is to win another championship, and I really want to do it. At times, whenever I put my mind into something, I usually accomplish it. I feel like this is the best route for me to do that. So I’m excited for it.”
Despite just finishing his 13th NBA season, Antetokounmpo is still at the top of his game when healthy. He averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 62.4% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range in 36 appearances last season.
Antetokounmpo is the only player in the league who averaged more than 25 points per game while also shooting better than 60% from the field last season.
“We just think he shares so many of the perspectives on how we want to compete, how we approach competition,” Spoelstra said. “He is fierce. We’ve had a lot of battles with him, and out of that has been a lot of respect. I’ve always respected how he competes. He is a force of will, a force of nature, has an absolute will to win. And on any given day, he’s already done it twice in his career [winning NBA MVP] where he’s been the best on the planet. But on any given day or year, he can be best in the planet. And that’s what we’re looking forward to moving forward.”
But injuries have been an issue for Antetokounmpo recently, as he played a career-low 36 games last season due in large part to multiple calf strains. He then sustained a hyperextended left knee and bone bruise on March 15 that cut his season short.
When healthy, Antetokounmpo is still considered one of the NBA’s top players. Not only was he named the league’s MVP for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, but he finished in the top four in MVP voting in seven straight seasons before injuries limited him this past season.
“I’m not concerned about [Antetokounmpo playing] 30 games last year,” Riley said when asked whether Antetokounmpo’s lack of availability last season is a concern. “I think he might have mentioned it a hundred times, work. He works. He works at it. He works on his body. And he’s a rather young 31. He just is. But, no. No, the talent is too high. And I’m just going to bless myself that he stays healthy.”
Antetokounmpo has also been named to nine All-NBA teams (seven first-team selections and two second-team selections) and five All-NBA Defensive teams (four first-team selections and one second-team selection) during his career. He was also named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2016-17 season and the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season.
But the highlight of Antetokounmpo’s career came when he led the Bucks to the NBA championship in 2021, averaging 30.2 points, 12.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 blocks per game during that playoff run. He was named the 2021 NBA Finals MVP.
“Giannis wants to win,” Riley said. “Coach [Spoelstra] wants to win. I think our fan base wants to win and that’s our plan. Our plan is to go for it right from the beginning.”
The Bucks drafted Antetokounmpo with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft as an 18-year-old out of Greece. He spent his entire NBA career with the Bucks prior to this trade to the Heat.
So, not only is Miami new to Antetokounmpo. But changing NBA teams is also new to the 6-foot-11 superstar.
“Obviously, everything is new,” Antetokounmpo said Thursday. “I think until last night when I got off the plane, it hadn’t hit me yet. I know that I got traded. But until you get in Miami, then you get to meet the people and the people that welcome you to the city, they’re different. And then you’re going to a facility that’s unknown. You don’t know where your locker is. You don’t know where you’re going to get treatment. You don’t even know how to get access to the court.”
But Antetokounmpo is happy with what he has seen and experienced so far from the city of Miami and the Heat.
“I think people are so welcoming, so nice to me,” he said. “I took a walk around the city. People are very warm, nice, excited for me to be here and my family to be here. ... I went and walked around. I did some tours today. I love it. It’s warm, warmer than Milwaukee.”
One thing that Antetokounmpo doesn’t like about South Florida, though, are the iguanas crawling around.
“I don’t like the, what do you guys call them, geckos? Iguanas?” Antetokounmpo said with a laugh. “I don’t like those. Yeah, those got to stay away from me.”
But all that is secondary to Antetokounmpo. Winning is his priority, with Antetokounmpo getting in a workout with Heat coaches on Thursday before his press conference.
“I’m so driven, like all this stuff is nice,” said Antetokounmpo, who is eligible to sign a four-year, $275 million contract extension with the Heat starting Jan. 6. “And as I’ve gotten older, I think I tend to talk even more. But I just love playing basketball. I got on the court, I was able to talk to the coaching staff about the way they play, what they think. And I just want to be around them as much as I can. So, when the time comes and training camp comes, I’m ready. ... I think this is the right place to be.”
And the Heat believes Antetokounmpo is the right player to lead this era of Heat basketball.
“No pressure on that. But we have big expectations, big dreams,” Spoelstra said while sitting next to Antetokounmpo. “You need somebody like this man right here to be able to accomplish what you want to accomplish. And we’re looking forward to this collaboration, working together hopefully to produce great, great things ahead for this organization.”
That pressure doesn’t bother Antetokounmpo.
“I know the expectations that this team has,” Antetokounmpo said. “I love pressure. Coach Spo talked about pressure and I think I thrive under pressure, I think I need pressure at this time in my career. I think in order for me to go to the next level, I got to get out of my comfort zone and I feel like Miami was the place for me to be. We are very like-minded as a team. It was a no-brainer. I wanted to be here, I’m excited to be here, and I just want to get to work.”
