It wasn’t long ago that Giannis Antetokounmpo was one of the NBA’s best defenders. He joined Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the third player ever to be named NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season during the 2019-2020 campaign, and he was consistently a major part of some great units in Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo was always at his best as a ‘roamer’ who could run around and make plays next to Brook Lopez’s reliable rim protection in drop coverage.

Giannis is still roaming after his offseason trade to the Miami Heat, but he doesn’t look like the same defender he once was now that he’s on the brink of turning 32 years old. Antetokounmpo ranks outside of the top-100 in Dean Oliver’s Net-Points Defense stat, and he put some ugly flashes on tape Thursday night as the Golden State Warriors beat the Heat, 120-100.

Antetokounmpo went viral on Thursday for an ugly clip of chasing the ball defensively with absolutely zero purpose. Giannis looked like a big golden retriever out there following the ball wherever it went without actually positioning himself to help make a defensive stop. Watch the clip here:

Giannis looks tired as hell in this clip, and that’s understandable. He’s the only real offensive creator on the Heat right now, and he’s not working with the type of spacing he enjoyed during his heyday with the Bucks. He’s putting up a 32.8% usage rate right now, and it’s probably too much to ask to carry that level of offensive burden while also being a great defender.

Sharp observers have noticed Giannis’ defense starting to decline the last couple seasons. The Heat’s best pathway to success this season was being an elite defensive team, and I’m just not sure if they can get there. Miami fell to 3-6 after the loss to the Warriors, and they’re lucky to even be that good, because they needed an overtime buzzer-beater to defeat a terrible Los Angeles Clippers team in their previous game.

There’s a lot of basketball left to be played, but the Giannis trade feels like a lose-lose for Milwaukee and Miami so far.