Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the greatest players in not only today's NBA but also in the history of the league.

He has backed this up over his career amassing two Most Valuable Player awards, 1 Defensive Player Award, and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award.

But now the question -- at nearly age 32 and with a new team for the first time in his career -- is whether he can actually get better.

He seems to think so, and he believes his fresh environment can play a part. Giannis has had pretty much nonstop praise for the Heat's vaunted Culture since he arrived, and that has played out on the court so far, where he and the team have gotten off to a flying preseason start.

Wanting the Work

Now that he is a member of the Miami Heat, Antetokounmpo is seeing first hand what the Heat demand from players, even the top ones, and he appears to be all-in on it.

In a podcast episode with his brother, Thanasis, he discusses how this new process will impact him.

Giannis says the Miami Heat will put him in the best shape of his life:

“After practice which will be like an hour and a half — you gotta run 10s, in a light day you might run 2 10s and around the league people don’t know this but they’re called “Miamis” when I was with the… pic.twitter.com/o8o7swi11q

— The HEAT Realm (@WadexFlash) October 14, 2026

The two biggest things that jump out to me are the fact that other teams call the drill “Miamis” and that everyone on the team supposedly says that “pain is your best friend.”

The first statement is just a testament to how much the Heat put an emphasis on being in good shape and demanding hard work.

There are no cutting corners when it comes to conditioning in the Heat organization. Each player must be at their best conditioning level -- there haven't been many exceptions over the years, and when there were (think back to Antoine Walker after the 2006 championship or Kyle Lowry in more recent years), it would leak out publicly.

The second statement just shows how much the players are able to buy in to the system. Playing with an organization that takes things to the extreme is not for everyone. It takes a special persona and player to be able to handle the intense demands. Knowing that the current Heat players all say that “pain is your best friend” just shows how committed this team is.

For a team to win a championship they have to get several things to go their way. Obviously, avoiding injuries would be first on the list but close behind would be team chemistry. A team can have a lot of talent but if it lacks the buy in from the players then the talent only goes so far. This Heat team clearly has both after Antetokounmpo’s comments.

It's all happened relatively quickly, though team events organized by the players clearly helped with that process. Davion Mitchell has been instrumental in that way, and Mitchell even flew to Greece to train with Giannis and get acclimated with him personally and professionally.

Giannis Antetokounmpo says he now understands why the Miami HEAT have always been such a tough team to play against.

“The 15th guy, the 18th guy on the roster will be ready to play. We work so hard and they get in such great shape. When they step on the floor, they will be ready… pic.twitter.com/kYrw1w8828

— Heat Diehards (@HeatDiehards) October 16, 2026

Now we will see how they all handle adversity together, because there will certainly be some, in a competitive Eastern Conference. But at least they appear to be going into the season connected and committed,, and it starts with a player who is on a mission to prove he's still among the best in the world.