MIAMI (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo has a big problem. Unwanted invaders were spotted recently in the backyard of his new Miami home, and that wasn't an issue he had to deal with while playing in Milwaukee.
Iguanas aren't exactly a big problem in Wisconsin. In Miami, well, they're everywhere — including around Antetokounmpo's new pool, which led to a viral moment this past weekend when the new Heat star posted about his family's encounter with the large lizard.
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“If the iguanas keep on coming, I'll probably move, maybe get an apartment. No pools, no grass, none of that stuff,” Antetokounmpo said. "When I came here in July somebody told me they were kind of cute. They're not cute. They're not cute. It's scary. But I'll get used to it, hopefully. We'll see.”
The Heat hope that's the worst of Antetokounmpo's acclimation issues.
The two-time MVP who led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA title in 2021 officially starts the next chapter of his career Tuesday, when the Heat open training camp in Boca Raton, Florida — about 45 minutes north of the team's arena. He was the centerpiece of a massive roster restructuring by Miami this summer, one that saw the Heat add Antetokounmpo, Klay Thompson, Bobby Portis and Tim Hardaway Jr., among others to a core led by Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson and Davion Mitchell.
“This is all new for me," Antetokounmpo said Monday at his first Heat media day. “I’m trying to learn defense. I’m learning offenses. I am trying to fit in the locker room with new faces. I’m trying to be able to play with players that I’ve never played before. It’s all new for me. It’s exciting. I know that I’m going to put in the work. Succeed or fail, I’m going to fail by working, or succeed by working. And the goal is to win a championship. That’s the goal.”
The arena the Heat call home is a construction site these days. Dozens of workers in hard hats, orange reflective vests and steel-toed boots are all over the building, putting the finishing touches on new club spaces and other amenities that will greet fans in a couple weeks.
Seems fitting that the team has gone through a refurbishing of sorts as well.
“I feel like there’s a synergy from a lot of people in the building about this opportunity and the appropriate time," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Some things in this league really are about alignment. And then we’ll see how it all plays out once we get into the competition and the games and all that.”
Antetokounmpo entered the NBA in 2013. His career totals to date: 21,531 points, 8,882 rebounds and 4,484 assists. The point and rebound totals are both fifth best in the NBA over that span, while the assist total is 13th best — and those numbers are just part of the reason why the Heat consider him to still be one of the five best players in the league.
“We brought him here for a reason. He’s here for a reason," Spoelstra said. “We want him to establish himself as in that conversation of being the best player in the league and that can be debated in a lot of different ways. But we’re not bringing him here to take a step back, so we’ll try to maximize his strengths as much as we can and get him as comfortable as possible.”
And if all goes to Miami's plan, iguanas will be Antetokounmpo's biggest problem.
“I really do believe that if not the best, I’m one of the best players in the world," Antetokounmpo said. "I know when I’m at my best, when I'm locked in, when my body is right, I really do believe that I can dominate the game and I can impact the game in both ways, offensively and defensively. I think I’ve shown it over the years.”
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