Giannis Antetokounmpo arrived in Miami in the offseason with the expectations that he would turn the Heat into bona fide contenders, but the opening weeks of the season have shown that there are some severe growing pains so far.
Miami has lost its first four games, losing to contenders such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons, but also crumbling against rebuilding squads such as the Dallas Mavericks and Charlotte Hornets.
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Naturally, fans and analysts have been pointing fingers at who or what caused this disastrous start, and Giannis, despite still producing at a superstar level, has borne the brunt of the blame.
Former NBA guard Theo Pinson is one of the people who blame Giannis and added to the debate by arguing that Giannis’ impact was greatly exaggerated and that he has never really made his teammates better since his days with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Empty stats
Speaking on The Baha podcast, Pinson further explained that, despite Giannis winning an MVP and a championship in the past, he has never really shown he is capable of being a leader who elevates his whole team, calling his individual playoff statistics nothing more than irrelevant.
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“I think they’re empty stats. I don’t think he makes anybody else better. Who does he make better?” Pinson stated. “Khris Middleton did it because he had the ball in his hand. That’s the only example you can give me, though, the one time he won.”
The Greek Freak has averaged 27.0 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in his nine postseason appearances so far. He is clearly one of the best players come April. Still, Pinson strongly believes these don’t necessarily translate into Giannis leading his team to success, even though he led Milwaukee to its first franchise title in 2021.
Related: “Give master classes on how to get paid without working” – Stephen A. goes off on Kawhi Leonard after another knee injury
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Westbrook comparisons
Pinson, who played five years in the league and has played against Giannis a couple of times, took it even further after declaring that Russell Westbrook was far and away a better player at elevating his teammates than Giannis, despite never winning a chip.
“Russell Westbrook, other than a championship, has gone further in the playoffs multiple times than Giannis has,” he said.
“Am I wrong? With the Clippers, he’s went further with Houston, he’s went further with f—g OKC, he’s went further, but he doesn’t have the one championship,” continued Pinson.
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While it is true that Westbrook has more deep postseason runs than Giannis, there is still a discrepancy in Pinson’s argument in terms of the teams the two players played alongside in their respective postseason campaigns.
Not to mention that Russ is a guard and didn’t have the expectations or the offensive load Giannis had in all of his postseason appearances. Either way, Pinson stands by his argument and states that there hasn’t been enough success generated for a player as generational as Giannis.
“My theory is I don’t think he’s made his teammates better like he should have. I just want to hold him to the same accountability as the other people,” stated Pinson.
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Miami searches for answers
Ultimately, it’s easy to blame Giannis for the Heat’s 0-4 start to the season, given that he was the franchise’s prized acquisition in the offseason and has been subject to the same scrutiny Pinson has argued for years. But in reality, he hasn’t been the problem.
Bam Adebayo, coming off a season where he broke Kobe Bryant’s single-game scoring record, has been wildly disappointing. In their four games, he has only averaged 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
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Compared to Giannis, who is averaging almost a career-high 28.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the first four games, Adebayo ultimately needs to do more. However, there is an argument to be made that the Heat’s struggles might come from the arrival of a unique player like Antetokounmpo, but so far. He has done his job.
The season is still long, and the Heat are still expected to bounce back. Giannis, for the most part, has remained a superstar, but if his teammates continue to struggle, questions about whether the franchise ultimately did the right thing by trading for him will plague them all season long.
Related: “It WAS NOT fun playing with Giannis” – Jeff Teague calls out Antetokounmpo amid Heat struggles
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.