3 Reasons Why the Miami Heat Should Go for Giannis Antetokounmpo Instead of KD

According to the NBA betting odds, Pat Riley and the Miami Heat are one of the top teams on the market for a superstar after trading Jimmy Butler to the Warriors.

While the NBA news is suggesting Miami wants Durant, the Heat should be a team that’s going all in to bring the talents of Giannis to South Beach. Here are the three main reasons why that’d be the best move if they want to get back to the NBA Finals and win it.

Should the Heat be focusing their attention on signing Giannis instead of Kevin Durant⁉️

Herr are 3 reasons why Giannis would be perfect in South Beach💯#giannis #nba #heatnation #greekfreak #bigeast #fearthedeer   #giannisantetokounmpo #boldup #miamiheat #basketball #MVP pic.twitter.com/K1QytKRGEV

— BetUS NBA (@BetUS_NBA) June 17, 2025

1. Giannis Is Still in His Prime; Durant Is Not

For starters, adding Giannis can give the Heat years of competing for championships as he turns 31 in December and is still in his prime. He led the league in field goals and free throw attempts per game for the third time last season on his way to averaging 30.4 points.

While Durant hasn’t averaged fewer than 25.0 points in NBA games since his rookie year in 2007-08, it’s the fact that his rookie year was that long ago for the Seattle SuperSonics, that’s the problem.

Turning 37 in September, Durant has a long injury history and has missed a lot of games since 2019. Not everyone is going to match LeBron James’ durability and play well until they’re 40 and beyond.

Giannis has plenty of years left in the tank.

Kevin Durants health and team injuries have killed multiple title runs.

2010-2012: Healthy✅

2013: Westbrook tears meniscus in the 1st round❌

2014: Westbrook misses 40 games + Ibaka misses first 2 games in the WCF❌

2015: Durant misses majority of the season with Jones… pic.twitter.com/TiQtW1Yha1

— TheFlockSniper (@TheFlockSniper) May 30, 2025

2. Giannis Makes His Team Better in More Ways

Durant played 62 games for the Suns this season, and the team still couldn’t get into the play-in tournament. Granted, they were 33-29 with him and 3-17 without him, but those numbers aren’t reflected as strongly in his on-off splits as the Sun were +4.2 points better in Net Rating with Durant on the court.

That’s solid, but Giannis has had a better number in each of the last eight seasons, never finishing below +6.0. The Bucks were +10.9 points better with Giannis on the court in 2024-25, so his impact is only getting stronger for a team that lost some big pieces in the last few years.

Since leaving Golden State, Durant hasn’t been able to get past the second round of the playoffs. His days of being the premier player on a championship contender look to be over, while Giannis can impact the game in more ways on defense, rebounding, drawing fouls, and he is one of the best passing big men.

Giannis Antetokounmpo at 30 years old:

2x Most Valuable Player
1x Defensive Player of the Year
9x All-NBA
9x All-Star
5x All-defense
1x Most Improved Player
NBA 75th Anniversary Team
20,538 career points
NBA Champion
1x Finals MVP

“Underachiever” pic.twitter.com/QySh9sfYpg

— BucksShowYo🦌 (@BucksShowYo) June 13, 2025

3. Giannis Fits Miami Better

While Antetokounmpo would no doubt require more resources to acquire, one of the best pieces Miami can offer a team is trading center Bam Adebayo, as Giannis can simply take his spot and upgrade the position. They can still put solid shooters around him like Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson.

Sources: After internal discussions, the Bucks plan to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo on their terms, eyeing a rebuild centered on picks and prospects. Giannis has the Raptors, Knicks, Heat, and Spurs on his wish list — but is signaling he won’t extend elsewhere, targeting 2027 free… pic.twitter.com/qj7madg8wj

— Cris Davis (@CrisDavisReport) June 5, 2025

Giannis lacked coaching stability in Milwaukee the last couple of years, and Erik Spoelstra is one of the best in the game at getting the most out of underdog teams. With the Knicks’ chaotic coaching search and Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury in Boston, the Eastern Conference is up for grabs next year.

Giannis can get them over the hump better than Durant can.