Pat Riley believes the Heat are blessed with a top-five player like Giannis Antetokounmpo
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Pat Riley believes the Heat are blessed with a top-five player like Giannis Antetokounmpo originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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Heading into the 2026-27 NBA season, the Miami Heat have a much higher ceiling than in previous seasons. While they were successful with players like Tyler Herro, it is undeniable that they have better potential with the addition of superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the roster from the Milwaukee Bucks.
Some might scoff at the fit of playing Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo together, but the Heat know the positives outweigh the negatives. Longtime team president Pat Riley believes having a legitimate superstar benefits the team moving forward.
Pat Riley knows Giannis Antetokounmpo's top-five status will boost the Miami Heat
Riley and the Heat are known to take big swings when it comes to getting superstar players. In the mid-2000s, they took a massive gamble by trading a significant haul of players for a disgruntled Shaquille O'Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Just two seasons in, the Heat were already NBA champions because O'Neal elevated the team's ceiling. He was the superstar player, but he also encouraged Dwyane Wade to become the team's biggest star, leading the Heat to their first championship in franchise history in 2006.
MORE: Pat Riley admits it was a tough decision to trade multiple players for Giannis Antetokounmpo
The same logic has applied to the Heat's business over the past two decades. Getting LeBron James and Chris Bosh also resulted in the Heat winning a title in 2012 and 2013. Signing Jimmy Butler also led to plenty of success, but the Heat were only the bridesmaids in 2020 and 2023.
Now, trading for Antetokounmpo was a costly decision, but the Heat knew they had to take a big swing. Thankfully for Riley and his front office, they now have one of the league's best players.
"Giannis is right there with Shaq and the Big 3. He's right there in some ways with Bam in 2017 when we drafted him. I place Giannis in the top five in the NBA... It’s fortunate for us to get this guy who’s talented, humble, successful; he just wants to win," Riley said about having Antetokounmpo on the Heat while on the Dan LeBatard Show.
Now that the Heat have a legitimate superstar again, their ceiling is much higher than before. They might not be on the same level of cohesiveness as the New York Knicks, but they definitely have the talent to compete with any team in the Eastern Conference.
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