The Miami Heat are just hours away from kicking off their 2026-27 NBA season with a home game vs the Minnesota Timberwolves. This game will mark the Heat regular season debut of Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom the team acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster trade this summer.

Recently, ESPN sports media personality Stephen A. Smith took to the airwaves with a hot take about Miami's expectations heading into this year.

“I think they’ll be a top-five defensive team in the entire NBA,” he said, per SiriusXM NBA Radio on X, formerly Twitter.

Smith certainly isn't the only one who views Miami as having a potentially dominant defensive unit heading into this season.

The frontcourt duo of Giannis and Bam Adebayo features two of the best overall individual defenders in the league, both capable of protecting the rim and switching onto perimeter players, while also providing elite help-side defense. Meanwhile, Andrew Wiggins remains a positive wing defender at this stage of his career, while Davion Mitchell is one of the elite ball-hawking pests on the outside.

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The shooting guard spot could leave a bit to be desired on that end, as veteran Klay Thompson figures to get the start and doesn't provide a ton on defense at this stage, but the Heat's other four stars on that end, combined with the ability of Erik Spoelstra to concoct elite defenses year in and year out, should be enough to make Smith's prediction become a reality.

Of course, there are still plenty of questions about the Heat on offense this year, including most notably a seeming lack of perimeter shot creation, but overall, this time shouldn't have many issues getting stops.