Giannis Antetokounmpo urged the Miami Heat to maintain their trust in one another after they opened the 2026-27 NBA season with a 131-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, despite his 35-point performance in his team debut.
Antetokounmpo shot 13-for-19 from the field and added six rebounds, but Miami struggled to contain Anthony Edwards, who scored 45 points and made nine three-pointers. The Heat allowed 131 points on their home floor and made just eight of 33 attempts from beyond the arc.
“We just got to trust what we’re doing. Got to trust what we’ve been working on,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “We got to trust one another. Our trust cannot go out the window when things don’t go our way. We got to dig in and trust one another even more, which is something that we didn’t do tonight.”
The two-time MVP said Miami’s offense and defense had looked different during the preseason, leaving him without an immediate explanation for the team’s struggles. He pointed to poor spacing, stagnant offense and missed open shots as areas that needed attention.
“I feel like shots was not falling. We got some good looks, some open looks. Wasn’t able to knock down some of them,” Antetokounmpo said. “Our spacing has to be better. Our offense was very, very stagnant. We did not look as fluid as the preseason.”
Antetokounmpo also took responsibility for Miami’s defensive performance, stressing that the team’s effort had to improve after allowing Minnesota to score 130-plus points.
“Our effort got to be way better. It starts for me. Our effort got to be better. My effort got to be better,” he said. “The score, 130 points in our house. I have to be better. It starts for me. I got to set the tone.”
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The Heat struggled to slow Edwards even when he attempted difficult shots. Antetokounmpo said the team could not afford to become discouraged when an opponent got into a rhythm, instead needing to stay physical and show different defensive looks.
“We didn’t make it as tough as possible for him,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like we just got discouraged, and then the game became easier for him.”
Despite the defeat, Antetokounmpo said the disappointment would be short-lived as Miami turns its attention to Friday’s home game against the Detroit Pistons.
“It’s like a 10-minute disappointment,” he said. “But you got to look to the next game.”
Antetokounmpo emphasized that trust would be the team’s main focus ahead of the rematch with Detroit.
“Trust. Trust. We just got to trust one another,” he said. “If we want to go where we want to go and where we believe we can go as a team, we have to respond and we have to be better.”
