Every day they're hustlin'.
The Miami Heat announced Friday, Oct. 2 that they are hosting "A Night in Vice City" to promote the highly-anticipated release of "Grand Theft Auto 6."
The event will serve as the backdrop for the Nov. 18 game against the Milwaukee Bucks, which is the night before the Nov. 19 release date for the latest edition of the popular and controversial video game. It also will be the first time Giannis Antetokounmpo faces off against the team that drafted him and facilitated his journey to superstardom.
In a news release, the Heat said that the partnership with Rockstar Games will transform the Kaseya Center into an immersive experience based on Vice City. The fictional location is where the latest edition of the game is based,
"the darkest side of the sunniest place in America." In previews for "Grand Theft Auto 6," there's palm trees, alligators, exotic cars, gold chains, dark alleys and art deco buildings on the beach with neon lights. Basically, Miami.
For the game, the court will have a special design, the players will wear a new uniform and there will be other activations throughout the night. There is also a merchandise collection of T-shirts, hoodies and hats.
The campaign for "A Night in Vice City" started on Thursday, Oct. 1 with a lighting of a neon sign that says, "Welcome to Vice City" on top of the arena. The team said that it will release more information about the event leading up to it.
The city of Miami Beach made headlines for partnering with Rockstar Gamesto promote "Grand Theft Auto 6." The deal received criticism because the game has garned a negative reputation among some over the years. In the game, players act as characters doing legally questionable actions to complete a story.
The November release date for "Grand Theft Auto 6" was announced in November 2025 after more than a decade of anticipation and delays. The last installment of the franchise, "Grand Theft Auto 5," was released in 2013.
"We are sorry for adding additional time to what we realize has been a long wait," Rockstar Games said in a statementwith the new release date, which was pushed back from the spring, "but these extra months will allow us to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve."
Antetokounmpo joined the Heat this summer in a mega trade that sent Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis to Milwaukee. The No. 15 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft spent his entire career up to this point with the Bucks until deciding he wanted a fresh start. He won two league MVPs, was named an All-Star 10 times and won the 2020-21 NBA finals in Milwaukee, when he was named Finals MVP.
The Heat previously had a Miami Vice-themed jersey series from 2018 to 2021 that utilized pink and blue, the signature colors of South Beach. The concept came about because, when the NBA switched uniform partners from adidas to Nike, Nike introduced the City Edition program. The first uniform, called "Vice," paid tribute to the 1980s crime drama starring Don Johnson and celebrated the vibrant culture of the city.
Per Andscape,the Heat's jersey was purchased more than the total of the other NBA teams' inaugural City Edition jerseys combined. The other iterations of the jersey created a buzz for four more seasons.
The Florida International Panthers football team also released the fourth edition of their pink and blue Vice U uniforms on Friday complete with a vintage Lamborghini.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heat to host Vice City night to promote 'GTA 6' and Giannis game vs Bucks
