MIAMI — From the moment he was acquired in June, the singular goal by the Miami Heat has been to get Giannis Antetokounmpo into a comfort zone.

For weeks, actually months, it had been going swimmingly.

And then, on the pool deck of Antetokounmpo’s new Pinecrest home, everything changed.

As he made clear during his July introductory media conference in July, the 10-time All-Star doesn’t like iguanas, lizards or any reptiles.

So Monday, at the team’s media day at Kaseya Center, the widest grin — albeit a wary grin — from the former Milwaukee Bucks NBA champion came when he was asked if the appearance of said iguana on his pool deck last week could impact what is an expected January Heat extension agreement.

“The iguanas? if they want to keep on coming, I’ll probably move. No pools, no grass, none of that stuff. Maybe get an apartment,” he said with tongue possibly in cheek. “Somebody told me when I came here in July, somebody told me they were kind of cute. Not cute. Not cute. Scary. But I’ll get used to it. Hopefully.”

When it comes to the reciprocal adjustment, the ease was a consistent talking point Monday from both teammates and coaches.

“We brought him here for a reason. He’s here for a reason,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We want him to establish himself as in that conversation of being the best player in the league, and that can be debated in a lot of different ways. But we’re not bringing him here to take a step back. So we’ll try to maximize his strengths as much as we can and get him as comfortable as possible.”

“Comfort” was the consistent Antetokounmpo talking point at media day.

“It’s going to be a huge change for us,” forward Simone Fontecchio said. “Having a player like that, that carries so much load defensively and carries so much attention from the other defense, it’s going to have so much space for all the shooters that we have.”

“It’s going to be very different now that Giannis is here,” said guard Tim Hardaway Jr., another of the Heat’s newcomers. “So, it’s going to be great to be a part of it.”

Rejuvenating, fellow Heat newcomer Klay Thompson said.

“Giannis is a type of player who individually can elevate wherever franchise he goes to and I’ll be able to look back one day and say I got to play with one of the greats,” Thompson said. “I’ve seen his trajectory his whole career. When he came in as a rookie he was raw. His skills weren’t as developed but you saw the potential.

“I just am so excited to be around that type of energy again and he’s a joy to be around. I’ve been lucky enough to play multiple MVPs so to add him to the list is just awesome.”

Or, as point guard Dru Smith said, “A system unto himself.”

And hungry.

“He’s very much so hungry,” said forward Bobby Portis, who accompanied Antetokounmpo from the Bucks, in the trade that sent out Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis and draft capital. “And then just knowing Giannis the last six years, he might not talk about it, he might not say it, but he hears it and he sees the disrespect that people say about him. So I think he’s very much so hungry this year to prove that next year.”

A hunger that has been building since Antetokounmpo and Portis shared in the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship.

“I really do believe that if not the best, I’m one of the best players in the world,” Antetokounmpo said of pursuing a fourth NBA Most Valuable Player award. “I know when I’m at my best, when I’m locked in, when my body is right, I really do believe that I can dominate the game and I can impact the game in both ways, offensively and defensively. I think I’ve shown it over the years.”

Reptiles aside, Antetokounmpo is confident he will be the one providing the scares in coming months.

“I feel in a good place,” he said, “a lot of new faces, new teammates, new locker, new arena, new fans, new city, new route to practice. But I’m in a good place. I’m in a very, very good place. I feel like these last two weeks, just being around the team and playing pickup, doing conditioning tests together, I feel like it helped me a lot.

“I’m trying to immerse myself in the culture. I feel like it’s a culture that fits my personality. I try not to cheat on the game. And I’m excited. I can see the excitement also in the coaches that I have, my teammates.”

And so it begins, the first session of training camp on Tuesday morning at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

“I just want to leave my mark,” he said. “I want to be able to look back two, three, five, 10 years from now and be like, ‘OK, I made that decision a good decision.’”

Then eventually back home from camp, at that point confident he will be steeled to handle all of his new Miami challenges.

Yes, including the iguanas.

“I’ll beat all of them,” he said with a smile. “I’ll beat all of them.”

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