Giannis Antetokounmpo candid about adjustment in Miami but flush with excitement: ‘I think this is the right place to be’

Pat Riley found another way to describe Giannis Antetokounmpo on Thursday afternoon during the “Greek Freak”‘s introductory Miami Heat news conference. The longtime Heat president deployed a metaphor that encompassed Antetokounmpo’s grandeur.

“We landed a 747,” Riley said of his blockbuster trade for the 6-foot-11, 243-pound forward, likening the two-time NBA MVP and 2021 NBA Finals MVP to an iconic Boeing aircraft known for transforming travel as the world’s first twin-aisle plane.

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Riley, a two-time NBA champion executive grinning throughout what could be a monumental day in franchise history, was simply paying a compliment to the latest star he’s ushered to South Florida. Antetokounmpo took it in stride, but, about a half hour later, he alluded to it while opening up at the dais in a way that made him sound nothing like a revolutionary machine and everything like the candid human at the core of his worldwide influence.

Now 31 after a tumultuous end to a mostly inspiring 13-season run with the Milwaukee Bucks, Antetokounmpo peeled back the curtain on the confluence of excitement and nerves he juggled as he navigated his transition to Miami.

“I was being a little bit vulnerable with him,” Antetokounmpo said, recounting the phone call with Riley that marked his “new beginning.”

“I was like, ‘I know you guys think I’m this big, tough beast, big plane and all this stuff. But at the end of the day, I’m human. I have my emotion.’

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“And I was like, ‘I’m scared. I’m kind of scared. This is different.'”

A deal that Riley said almost came to fruition in February, when it came down “to the midnight hour,” ultimately saw the Bucks send Antetokounmpo and forward Bobby Portis to the Heat in June. In exchange, Miami shipped off All-Star guard Tyler Herro, center Kel’el Ware, wing Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakučionis, the 13th overall pick in this year’s draft — which the Bucks used to grab Tennessee forward Nate Ament — and future draft considerations, including two more first-round picks.

Suddenly, the swirl of rumors came to a halt, and the conjecture about Antetokounmpo’s future could enter…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/giannis-antetokounmpo-candid-about-adjustment-in-miami-but-flush-with-excitement-i-think-this-is-the-right-place-to-be-221946262.html

Author : Andy Backstrom

Publish date : 2026-07-16 22:19:00

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