Miami Heat player Erik Spoelstra was not terribly thrilled with one of his reserves for helping to fire up Anthony Edwards during the team’s season opener on Wednesday.
Edwards went off for 45 points in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 131-106 victory over the Heat at Kaseya Center in Miami, Fla. on Wednesday. After the game, Edwards said someone on the Heat bench had been “talking pretty crazy,” and credited it for firing him up.
The Heat player in question turned out to be second-year wing Myron Gardner. Spoelstra acknowledged that Gardner’s competitive energy can be good for the team, but cautioned that Gardner also has to “be smart about it.”
“I particularly don’t want him talking trash to the other team’s best scorers, especially when he’s not out there,” Spoelstra said of Gardner. “But he’s got a good heart. He means the right thing. He’ll be better.”
Erik Spoelstra, on Myron Gardner talking trash to Anthony Edwards last night: https://t.co/lDNfpwgG3B
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) October 22, 2026
Gardner only played three minutes of garbage time in the fourth quarter, so he was chirping Edwards exclusively from the bench. It’s one thing to do it while competing with an opponent, but this just makes him look pretty silly.
Between this incident and another moment he was involved in earlier this year, Gardner might start to get a reputation around the league if this keeps up.
