; Miami Heat president Pat Riley speaks to reporters on during an introductory press conference for Miami Heat forward Bobby Portis (not pictured) at Kaseya Center.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Miami Heat are less than a month away from getting their 2026-27 season underway, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and several other new faces in the mix. While questions persist about Miami's fit on the court, the Heat are still more back from a cultural relevance perspective than they have been in quite some time.
Meanwhile, not long into the NBA season, the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI game will be released. The game famously takes place in Vice City, a fictional town heavily based on Miami, and in preparation for the event, the Heat's home venue, the Kaseya Center, gave its exterior a makeover.
(Video via Mike Cugno of CBS Miami on X, formerly Twitter).
The Heat have already paid homage to the popular video game over the years with their Vice City jerseys, and the new signage on the arena is just the latest example, assuming the game does indeed release in November and doesn't undergo yet another delay.
Meanwhile, on the court, the Heat are looking to prove that their trade for Antetokounmpo and subsequent signings of veteran wings, headlined by Klay Thompson, will be enough to push them back into the contention mix in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat haven't won a playoff game since the 2024 season, when they lost in five games in the first round to the Boston Celtics, with many fans growing frustrated with their stagnation and lack of big moves over the last couple of years.
Pat Riley certainly made a big move by going out and getting Antetokounmpo, but it remains to be seen whether or not the Heat's lack of shot creators on the perimeter or bench depth will come back to bite them.
Miami's season is set to get underway on October 21.