SoFla Guide Editors
Klay Thompson’s jumper spent October on vacation, and Erik Spoelstra could not care less. The Heat coach said after practice at Kaseya Center on October 19 that he is not worried about Thompson’s preseason shooting, according to the Miami Herald via Yahoo Sports, and he sounded downright upbeat about everything else the veteran is bringing. With opening night almost here, the bigger question is whether Miami’s freshly rebuilt roster is ready to go.
The numbers were ugly. The coach is not sweating them.
There is no sugarcoating it. Thompson shot 26.9% from the field (7-of-26) and 15.0% from three (3-of-20) across four preseason games, the Sun Sentinel and Heat Nation reported. For a guy whose name is basically shorthand for splash, that is a cold October.
Spoelstra’s response was a shrug and a pep talk.
“I feel really good about what he’s providing for us. He’s still getting his legs under him. He’ll be just fine. Actually, I’m really encouraged by all the other things he’s doing for us outside the three-point shooting,” Spoelstra said, per the Miami Herald via Yahoo Sports.
Thompson, who signed with Miami this offseason after a buyout with the Dallas Mavericks, was even breezier about it. Speaking at the same post-practice media session, he made it clear he had other priorities in exhibition play.
“Well, luckily, I have a blank slate. The regular season starts Wednesday, and (preseason) doesn’t count. So, for me, I wasn’t too concerned with how I shot the ball. It was more about my wind, my condition, and playing good defense,” Thompson said, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel and Heat Nation.
Translation for the group chat: conditioning first, buckets later. Heat fans will be watching to see when “later” shows up.
Ryan Conwell, the rookie who keeps showing up
If Thompson’s preseason was a slow burn, rookie Ryan Conwell’s was a highlight reel. In Miami’s October 10 preseason loss to Minnesota, Conwell scored a team-high 22 points with nine assists, five rebounds and zero turnovers in 32 minutes, NBA.com reported. Nine dimes and no giveaways from a first-year guard is the kind of stat line that gets a coaching staff’s attention.
Conwell came to Miami after being selected 37th overall by Oklahoma City in the 2026 NBA Draft and traded to the Heat. He played college basketball at South Florida, Indiana State, Xavier and Louisville, so he has seen a few locker rooms already.
He reportedly is “not playing like a rookie,” according to a Miami Herald headline, though who exactly said that was not spelled out.
One more fun wrinkle: Conwell wore No. 7 before a certain Greek superstar arrived, Yahoo Sports reported, and he was assigned a new number once Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed it. Welcome to the NBA, kid.
Giannis in red and black, now wearing No. 7
Speaking of which. Miami landed Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster offseason trade that sent Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and draft capital to Milwaukee.
With the new city came a new number. Antetokounmpo switched from No. 34 to No. 7 with the Heat, as first reported by the Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds, and the NBA confirmed the change on NBA.com. WSVN 7News Miami confirmed on July 7 that he had dropped No. 34, which he wore for his entire 13-year NBA career, in favor of No. 7.
Antetokounmpo is reportedly soaking in his new Miami chapter alongside Bam Adebayo, according to features in the Palm Beach Post and the Sun Sentinel. A Giannis and Bam frontcourt is the kind of pairing that has the 305 dreaming big.
So, is this roster ready for opening week?
The honest answer is that preseason only tells you so much. Miami went 3-2 in exhibition play, and Conwell led the team in scoring twice, with 22 against Minnesota and 21 against Orlando on October 16.
The one thing to keep an eye on: Antetokounmpo and Adebayo both missed that final preseason game against Orlando with an undisclosed illness. That means the Heat’s two biggest pieces did not close out October on the court together, so the first real look at the full group may come when the games count.
And they count soon. The Heat open the 2026-27 regular season on October 21 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That is the same Minnesota team Conwell torched in preseason, which should make for a fun little storyline.
For Thompson, it is a clean slate, just like he said. For Conwell, it is a chance to prove October was no fluke. And for Giannis in No. 7, it is the start of something South Florida has been waiting all summer to see.
