{"id":908817,"date":"2026-09-25T06:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T06:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/908817\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T06:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T06:48:10","slug":"vin-baker-reunites-with-giannis-hes-like-a-son-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/908817\/","title":{"rendered":"Vin Baker reunites with Giannis: \u201cHe\u2019s like a son to me\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Johnny Askounis\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/en\/nba-news\/2012012\/vin-baker-talks-giannis-antetokounmpo-miami-heat-nba\/maillot:info@eurohops.net\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> info@eurohoops.net<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/en\/nba-news\/1983558\/giannis-antetokounmpo-traded-to-the-miami-heat\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the Miami Heat acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> ahead of the 2026\u201327 NBA Regular Season, they paired him with Vin Baker, who has joined Erik Spoelstra\u2019s coaching staff.<\/p>\n<p>Baker worked closely with the Greek superstar for eight seasons in Milwaukee. During a media appearance on Thursday, he opened up about the deep personal bond behind his move to South Beach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI took on a mentoring role before anything else, and we just became really close personally,\u201d he described. \u201cHe\u2019s like a son to me, and I think he would share the same sentiments. We just have a special bond that goes beyond basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/en\/trademarks\/1884083\/vin-baker-was-the-minister-in-giannis-antetokounmpos-wedding\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Having even officiated the Athens native\u2019s wedding in 2024,<\/a> Baker brings foundational trust to the staff, aiming to help him read double-teams and operate in the post alongside Bam Adebayo. According to Baker, the former NBA champion is entering this chapter with relentless intent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiannis is one of the greatest athletes we have today in sports, and he\u2019s motivated,\u201d he emphasized. \u201cHe understands his legacy is wrapped up in winning championships. There\u2019s a chip on his shoulder being here in this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Preparation begins at the Kaseya Center on Monday for the franchise\u2019s annual preseason media day, followed immediately by training camp on Tuesday. From there, the roster embarks on a five-game exhibition slate. They tip off October 3 against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/basket\/toronto-raptors\/?lang=en\" title=\"Toronto Raptors\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"auto-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Toronto Raptors<\/a> in Quebec City, before returning home for friendlies against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/basket\/new-orleans-pelicans\/?lang=en\" title=\"New Orleans Pelicans\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"auto-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/basket\/minnesota-timberwolves\/?lang=en\" title=\"Minnesota Timberwolves\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"auto-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/basket\/brooklyn-nets\/?lang=en\" title=\"Brooklyn Nets\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"auto-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Brooklyn Nets<\/a>. After a road finale in Orlando on October 16, the process culminates on October 21, when they launch their regular-season campaign against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/basket\/minnesota-timberwolves\/?lang=en\" title=\"Wolves\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"auto-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wolves<\/a> in Kaseya Center.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurohoops.net\/latest-news\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Read the latest News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Johnny Askounis\/ info@eurohoops.net Beyond the Miami Heat acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo ahead of the 2026\u201327 NBA Regular Season,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-908817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}