Miami Heat president Pat Riley once again reminded everyone of a stern lesson: Never bet against him.
The Heat landed Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis on Monday, sending Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, four first-round picks, a second-round pick, and a pick swap to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Over the past few seasons, the Heat had been heavily linked to Antetokounmpo, who had gradually grown displeased with the Bucks after they won the title in 2021. The two-time MVP liked the culture of the Heat, and it was also probably enticing to him that an iconic figure like Riley was running things.
Miami beat out the Boston Celtics in acquiring the 31-year-old Antetokounmpo, and fans on X could not help but gloat.
“The Heat will ALWAYS own the Celtics,” said @Sleeper_Hoops.
“Pat Riley gotta be the happiest man alive right now, he HATES the Celtics,” added @KutthroatG_.
“He even broke the Celtics by making the Celtics say Jaylen Brown is on the table,” wrote @xGOATSPORTZx.
“The Pat Riley Curse has been passed on to the Celtics,” posted @1of1Ryan.
“Pat really bullied him (Brad Stevens) in public, and we all just watched it happen. The Celtics just had all of their dirty laundry aired out to the public, and now they have to tuck their tails between their legs and go back home. I’ve never seen anything like it before. In Pat Riley we trust,” commented @itsdardan.
The Celtics were viewed as one of the frontrunners to land Antetokounmpo, with Brown being the centerpiece of the trade offer. Boston, however, could not get it done, allowing Miami to get another generational talent.
It was reported that the Celtics did not want to include Hugo Gonzalez in the trade package for the 1o-time All-Star.
Antetokounmpo is the latest addition to Riley’s list of superstar acquisitions, which includes LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler, and Alonzo Mourning, just to name a few.
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