Ex-Heat HC Stan Van Gundy Calls Bam Adebayo “Overrated” as He Casts Doubt on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co.

The Miami Heat seem to be a stronger team heading into the 2026-27 season thanks to the arrival of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson. Earlier this summer, the Milwaukee Bucks traded Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat for several players and several draft picks. This immediately put the league on notice, with the Greek Freak joining forces with Bam Adebayo.

Over the years, Adebayo slowly established himself as the Heat's main star. In March, he set a franchise record for scoring the most points in a single game: 83 against the Washington Wizards. He surpassed Kobe Bryant's 81 points for the second-highest single-game scoring total.

Despite the greatness he's displayed over the last few years, a former Heat head coach isn't sold on Adebayo and the idea of him teaming up with Antetokounmpo.

"I’m not as high on Miami as a lot of people are," Stan Van Gundy said on The Zach Lowe Show, reposted by Heat Central on X. "The shooting they added compromises them badly on the defensive end of the floor. Even though he was great last year, I’m not sold on Davion Mitchell as a full-time starting PG."

Van Gundy highlighted Antetokounmpo's health issues, before adding, "I’d actually be surprised if they were in the top 6. ... I’m not a fan of their roster. — I think Wiggins is a little underrated, but I think Bam is a little overrated, particularly at the offensive end of the floor. I’m not sold on them."

While Van Gundy has his doubts about the new Heat squad, the combo of Antetokounmpo and Adebayo has already proven to be effective in the 2026 NBA Preseason. So far, in four preseason games, Miami is 3-1.

Bam and Giannis have efficiently helped their squad look strong in the preseason. Looking at their numbers, Adebayo averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assist in two games, while Antetokounmpo put up 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.0 block in three games.

It'll be interesting to see how much more they can produce for the Heat once they start playing under their regular minutes in the rotation come the 2026-27 season.

Bam Adebayo Reveals Heat's Motivation This Upcoming Season

While the Miami Heat are seen as a strong team in the Eastern Conference after the arrivals of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson, there are people like Stan Van Gundy who doubt the team's capabilities.

Because of this doubt, all of a sudden, the Heat are motivated to prove the entire league, especially the media, wrong about their perspective on them. In a recent episode of The Makeshift Project Podcast, Bam Adebayo shared how he and his teammates will approach the negativity that surrounds them heading into the 2026-27 season.

"We all respect each other because we come from different aspects of life, but like, we all got a chip on our shoulder," Adebayo said. "In the last 3-4 years, you’ve seen a lot of guys on this team now get dogged (disrespected) through the media like, ‘yeah, he’s washed, he can’t be this, he’s not doing this anymore.' And I feel like everybody got something to really prove, and it’ll take care of itself when we win games."

The Heat will play its final preseason game against the Orlando Magic on Friday, before returning home to kick off its season against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.