Giannis-Bam Pairing Ripped by NBA Exec amid Heat's Early-Season Struggles

Back-to-back wins apparently haven't been enough to assuage doubts about Giannis Antetokounmpo's fit alongside Bam Adebayo with the Miami Heat.

The Ringer's Howard Beck reported "league insiders remain highly skeptical of the Adebayo-Antetokounmpo pairing" after the Heat's 2-5 start to the 2026-27 season.

One NBA executive told Beck: "I never thought those two were going to fit together. I just don't know how you run an offense with two power forwards. Neither one of them can shoot and operate in the same space."

Antetokounmpo has served as the Heat's leading scorer by averaging 28.4 points through his first seven games in Miami.

That has coincided with Adebayo seeing both his production (20.1 to 16.3 points per game) and usage rate (24.8 percent to 21.4 percent) drop from last season.

Former Heat star and current VP of basketball development Udonis Haslem said he recently had a conversation with Adebayo about how to avoid getting stifled by defenders already working on Antetokounmpo.

"When Giannis busts out... try to get ahead of him, or get across the court from him. Do not trail him. That is the best thing for Bam," Haslam said on Amazon Prime's NBA Nightcap.

Adebayo himself has said he is still working on being more "aggressive" while complementing Antetokounmpo.

The Heat surrendered multiple players who played key roles last season including Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the trade to acquire Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks.

Finding a better fit between Antetokounmpo and Adebayo will be key to the Heat's hopes of adjusting from those roster losses early this season. That will start Wednesday night with the first game of a back-to-back against the LA Clippers and Golden State Warriors.