Bobby Portis shed 19 pounds before joining Heat, Giannis sees another level for him in Miami - Hot Hot Hoops - NBA

Photo credit: Surya Fernandez – HHH

Portis wants to move better, contribute defensively and set the tone as a veteran. His longtime teammate has already noticed the work.

Bobby Portis Jr. had more than a new team to prepare for this offseason. He also had Miami’s conditioning test on his mind.

The veteran big man said he started the offseason at approximately 266 pounds. By his most recent weigh-in, he was down to 247—a 19-pound difference he hopes will help him contribute in several ways with the Miami Heat.

“I think it was good for me just to get up and down the floor the way I want to, switch on defense, move my feet a little better, and things like that,” Portis said. “Trying to impact winning as much as I can.”

There was also the matter of making a good first impression.

“I always heard about these Heat tests, the conditioning tests, you feel me?” Portis said. “I didn’t want to be that guy that didn’t make it.”

His update for the room?

“So for you guys to understand, I did make it.”

Giannis has noticed the difference

Giannis Antetokounmpo knows Portis’s habits well after their years together in Milwaukee. But even with that familiarity, he sounded encouraged by how his longtime teammate is entering this next chapter.

“He had one of the best offseasons of his career,” Antetokounmpo said. “He looks good. He’s moving fast. His shot is sharp.”

Antetokounmpo also pointed to Portis’s weight loss and movement before describing a player who appears particularly focused.

“He’s in a different kind of zone right now.”

For Giannis, Miami’s environment could help bring even more out of him. He pointed to the team’s expectations and the opportunity for Portis to reach another level with the Heat.

Antetokounmpo said others within the organization have been surprised by how Portis works and leads. Those qualities were already familiar to him.

Portis, meanwhile, sees that leadership as an important part of what he can offer Miami.

“I think as I’ve grown in my career, I’ve gotten comfortable in my skin with being vocal and talking to my teammates and just letting them know what’s up,” Portis said. “I think that’s my role and that’s my place on the team.”

Setting the tone in a new locker room

Portis wants to be someone teammates can lean on. Entering his 12th NBA season, he has enough experience with the highs and lows of the league to help younger players navigate their own situations.

That role starts with building relationships. Portis emphasized the importance of the group spending time together before training camp, learning about one another beyond basketball.

“I think when you want to win a championship, when you want to get to that next level and play in June, it doesn’t start in training camp,” he said. “It doesn’t start in preseason. It starts in the offseason.”

His reasoning was straightforward: knowing what a teammate is playing for makes it easier to sacrifice for him on the court. Setting a screen or diving for a loose ball becomes part of a shared investment in winning.

Portis likes the makeup of this group, particularly its willingness to put the team first.

“I think we got a lot of selfless, hungry, self-motivated guys that can sacrifice for the betterment of the team,” he said.

The Heat still have to turn that willingness into results. Portis’s preparation gives him a starting point: arrive in better shape, move more comfortably within Miami’s system and bring the competitive energy he expects of himself.

For all the talk about a new city, new teammates and a lighter frame, his goal is familiar.

Bobby Portis shed 19 pounds before joining Heat, Giannis sees another level for him in Miami – Hot Hot Hoops

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