Photo by Ryan Spencer
Grand Theft Auto VI drops in just over a month, and Rockstar Games just found one of its biggest promotional partners yet. The Miami Heat are turning into Vice City’s basketball team – but only for one night.
It’s a clever bit of marketing timing. GTA VI releases November 19, the NBA season tips off October 20, and somewhere in between, these two worlds are colliding in a way nobody saw coming.
The Heat will face the Milwaukee Bucks on November 18 — notably, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s former team before he became Miami’s newest franchise star. For this one game, the Heat won’t just be wearing a themed jersey. They’re getting what the NBA calls a “completely reimagined uniform,” and they’ll play on custom hardwood designed specifically to look like it belongs in Vice City.
This isn’t just a jersey swap.
The NBA’s own announcement leaned into the hype hard, calling it
“A historic partnership, when the HEAT as Vice City host a never-been-done-before event on the eve of the highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI.”
The Heat’s social media accounts followed with their own teasers. One post simply read: “For one night only, the HEAT trade Miami for Vice City.” Another leaned into the atmosphere: “Bright lights. Vice City.”
For one night only, the HEAT trade Miami for Vice City.
Join us on November 18, when Vice City hosts the Milwaukee Bucks on a never-before-seen court, wearing an all-new uniform.
This is A Night in Vice City. Also live on ESPN. For details, visit https://t.co/ZiEQ2XUxdu https://t.co/KaQC7QGRHQ
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 2, 2026
Bright lights. Vice City.
A Night in Vice City tips off November 18. https://t.co/zZGGcrYyiS
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) October 2, 2026
Whoever’s handling the Heat’s Twitter account clearly had fun with this one. The game will air live on ESPN, giving Rockstar a massive broadcast audience right as GTA VI hype hits its peak.’
A Football Team Shows Up Too
The basketball crossover wasn’t the only GTA VI sports tie-in making rounds this week. Images surfaced online showing what appears to be Vice City’s in-game football team – the Vice City Manatees.
If the name sounds familiar, that’s the point. The Manatees are an obvious riff on the Miami Dolphins, right down to the general concept of a Florida-based NFL team with a marine mascot.
But Rockstar swapped out the Dolphins’ orange and green for something more recognizable to anyone who’s spent time in Miami: teal and pink. It’s the same color combination featured in the Heat’s wildly popular City Connect jerseys, which suggests Rockstar’s art team did their homework on local sports culture before building this fictional league.
A GTA VI news account on Twitter shared the find, describing it as part of a larger wave of Manatees-branded merchandise expected to launch alongside the game itself.
🚨 NEW: A first look at a GTA VI “Vice City Manatees” football has surfaced. 🏈🌴
Featuring the team’s manatee mascot alongside VI and Rockstar Games branding, the football is one of several Manatees-themed merchandise items expected to release alongside GTA VI ⚡️ @thrill_com https://t.co/6qaW9CNX8o
— GTA 6 ✦ News & Updates (@SourceVI) October 1, 2026
Whether this football ends up being an actual pre-order bonus or just background lore remains unclear. Rockstar hasn’t confirmed anything officially yet.
After roughly a decade of waiting, speculation, and leaked footage, Grand Theft Auto VI finally launches on November 19. Between the Heat’s one-night transformation and the growing pile of Vice City-branded merchandise, Rockstar’s marketing machine is clearly just getting started – and judging by how much attention this has already generated, it’s working exactly as intended.
