MIAMI — The name is Myron, not Mayhem, although at times it is difficult to tell the difference.
He is loud, lovable (to teammates) and, at times, too loose with the lips (just ask Anthony Edwards).
But one thing about Myron Gardner is he makes you notice even when he is not on the court, which certainly makes the Miami Heat guard one of one.
Boisterous, buoyant and bubbly, Gardner has a way of being in the middle of it all, even when he isn’t very much part of it, at all.
Such was the case in Wednesday night’s season-opening loss to Minnesota at Kaseya Center, when his chatter from the bench fueled 45-point fury from Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards.
Considering Gardner’s lone action in that game came in mop-up duty when the Heat were down 29, an internal rebuke might have seemed in order.
Instead, an appreciation of a fire that burns bright, even if it at times can lead to opposing ire.
“Now,” captain Bam Adebayo said during training camp, “we have to calm him down sometimes. But you’re talking about a kid from the inner city of Detroit trying to make it. That’s what we love about Myron. He plays hard every single time he steps on the floor. And that can spark a game.”
Granted, hype man is not exactly a roster-able NBA skill, but after a grueling month of camp and the preseason, there also is something to be said about a shot of infectious energy.
“It’s undeniable,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, “his energy and toughness.”
Of course, when Edwards was asked after Wednesday night’s game about his antagonist, he said he had no idea who Gardner was. Ditto when Gardner got mouthy from the bench last season when the Heat played Klay Thompson while the current teammate was with the Dallas Mavericks.
Antics aside, it is the basketball part of the equation that has gotten Gardner to this point, upgraded from his previous two-way contract, and now with a $500,000 guarantee locked in for the season.
More to the point, it is the relentlessness when he does get the opportunity to get on the court.
“Myron is one of those undrafted underdogs trying to make it,” Adebayo said, with the Heat facing the Detroit Pistons on Friday night at Kaseya Center before moving on to Saturday night’s road opener against the Charlotte Hornets. “I feel like every time he steps on the court, we all feel his energy. He’s always doing something.
“Sometimes it goes sideways. But the kid’s not scared of anything. He’s fearless, and he wants the moment.”
Well, perhaps not the Edwards moment, with the Heat declining to make Gardner available in the wake of that mouthiness.
“No matter the context that he’s playing in, it feels like he’s making stuff happen every time,” Spoelstra said of the moments when Gardner has gotten his opportunities. “The controlled chaos, that’s that really fine balance that we’ve been working on with him, to really improve in that area.
“He brings a level of uncommon energy and intensity. This offseason was really about trying to give that competitive energy some structure and some discipline to it.”
Through it all, perhaps because of the exuberance of spirit, there has been abiding patience for potential development for the 25-year-old who went undrafted out of Arkansas-Little Rock in 2023, after previously playing at Georgetown.
“There’s going to be more frustrating times or things where it feels like a setback,” Spoelstra said of the on-court development, “and you have to develop that fortitude, just to continue to try to come back and learn from it and have a great day the next day.”
That yapping coming off the practice court? That’s Myron Gardner.
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The mayhem on the court, including a preseason technical foul? That’s Myron Gardner.
And the relentless chatter from the bench? Well, on Wednesday night, fuel for Anthony Edwards’ fire.
Through it all, Spoelstra noted earlier this month, “It’s hard not to love that competitive spirit that he brings. He’s going to put his fingerprints on the competition one way or another.
“The majority of the time, right now, they’re positive things. But it’ll be kind of a bundle of everything at times.”
A player with a big voice, but also with modest goals.
“Just keep getting better, try to reach the best potential I can reach,” Gardner said. “Try to help the team and working on consistency.”