Where Every Miami Heat Player Stands as Camp Nears

Camp opens September 29 and the roster is basically what it's going to be. Miami has fourteen standard contracts and no plans to fill the fifteenth before the season starts, and I'll get to that at the end. The big news since my I last write up: Pelle Larsson signed a four-year, $60 million extension with a mutual option on the final year. More on that below. Below is where I have each guy. Their role, what each player does, and the thing I'll be closely watching.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

The offense will run downhill through him and everything else is arranged around what that does to a defense. His career profile is built on attacking in transition, at the top of the key, a bit in the post, as well as on putbacks and rolls. He's 97th percentile on second-chance finishes and elite in the open floor. What he isn't though is a spacer; his spot-up efficiency sits in the 38th percentile and he's 20th coming off screens. Miami will not be asking him to do those things.

Watching: games played. He appeared in 36 last season. The tissue question in my opinion is solely on the cumulative load, not his explosiveness. I believe how Miami manages him in November and December will matter more than anything he does in a given game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has ranked in the 96th percentile or better in transition points per 100 added the last three seasons (CTG).

Heat have been 18th or worse in transition ORTG in three of the last four season.

Will be a huge boost in that department. pic.twitter.com/lftX9CdPaq
— Matt Hanifan (@mph_824_) June 28, 2026

Bam Adebayo

The connective hub, the defensive anchor, and the guy whose job description just got simpler. Could this finally be the season that Bam wins the elusive DPOY? We will see. Offensively over his career, he's produced 0.93 points per possession in isolation and 0.93 as a pick-and-roll ball handler, the latter in the 84th percentile on almost no volume. He's also the only Heat player besides Giannis with a positive career relative true shooting.

Watching: whether the three-point shot from last season holds. It arrived in real volume for the first time, and if it sticks with more efficiency along WITH the added volume, the two-big spacing question mostly answers itself. He shot 35.7% from 3 the 2 previous seasons on lesser volume. A return to those levels would do wonders for this team.

Andrew Wiggins

Now expected to start on the wing surrounded by more size, his fit here is better than many critics suggests as long as the role is drawn correctly. He finishes cuts in the 80th percentile and runs in transition in the 70th, both skills that require someone else to break the defense first, which is exactly what this offense will do for him. Self-creation has never been his strength; his isolation and pick-and-roll numbers sit in the 45th and 59th percentile.

Watching: his free throw rate & percentage. He jumped from 72.5 percent career to 78.4 last season, and on a team with this roster's free throw profile, every point at the line matters.

Klay Thompson

I have him starting at the two. He shot a career-low 38.3 percent from three last season in Dallas, which came with almost no spacing and no gravity around him, context that should improve dramatically here. His defensive profile is low-event but disciplined. Elite foul rate, good rim contests, and no gambling.

Watching: the movement shooting. Miami's handoff-and-pindown machinery that has been successful in years past is the closest thing in the league to what made him effective, and he hasn't had access to that in years.

Davion Mitchell

The starting point guard and the front of the defensive funnel. Coming off a career year in which he shot 39.5 percent from three and 49 percent overall after four seasons in the low 30s from distance. In a down defensive year to his standards, he still also drew charges at a 91st percentile rate, which is another way to be a valuable and reliable part of Heat culture.

Watching: whether the shooting holds. Back-to-back good seasons from deep is a decent sample, is it now a certainty that he has to be respected from long-range?

Tim Hardaway Jr.

Tim made more threes off the bench than anyone in the league last season, and his career spot-up efficiency sits in the 85th percentile on thirty percent frequency, which is the most elite high-volume skill anyone on this roster produces. He also grades in the 77th percentile as a pick-and-roll ball handler, which is higher than most people would guess.

Watching: how much on-ball responsibility he gets. Miami's second unit needs someone to run it and he's the most experienced option to do so off of the bench.

Bobby Portis

Backup four and/or five. Shot 45.6 percent from three last season, top-ten in the league at good volume, and rebounds at a 90th percentile rate with elite ball security. The defense is genuinely poor, bottom fifteen percent by most measures, but his overall impact graded out right at league average, which is a different thing than being "unplayable" like some other backups have been for Miami.

Watching: the frontcourt minutes math. How will Spo tinker with the rotation and who will Portis mostly share the floor with? He, Richards and Jović are competing for what's left behind Giannis, Bam and Portis.

Pelle Larsson

The connector, and now the guy most expect to take the largest leap on this roster from last season to this season. He signed a four-year, $60 million extension today with a mutual option for 2030-31.
I wrote earlier in the summer that I expected Miami to get a deal done somewhere in the $12 to $16 million a year range. It came in at $15 million. Last season he put up 11.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 49.6 percent shooting across 70 games with 54 starts.

Watching: the outside shot. He was 26th percentile in relative three-point percentage and bottom-tier on pull-ups and step-backs. He doesn't need to be a marksman on this team, but he needs to be respectable enough that teams can't just ignore him in the corner. That's the swing skill on whether he can take his game up a notch.

Pelle Larsson Advanced Metrics — Hoopologyviz.com

Nick Richards

Backup center. Career 65.9 percent true shooting on a six percent on-ball rate, which means his profile is that of a player who produces without needing many touches. Seventy-one percent at the rim across nearly a thousand career attempts. He's also the only true drop-coverage big behind Bam, which makes him the insurance policy on this roster's biggest risk which is an injury To Giannis or Bam.

Watching: whether the offseason conditioning work shows up. He's spent the summer training in Miami, and a big man arriving in great shape changes what a staff can ask of him early on in October.

Simone Fontecchio

The consummate professional, Miami wanted him back. He's a streaky shooter but the kind of floor spacer a Giannis offense can create advantages for. He may not be a part of the rotation, but as we have often seen with Coach Spo, you can expect him to be flung into a game a few times when there’s an injury or there’s a need for a spot starter.

Watching: where his minutes come from. He may be the most useful player on the roster that really doesn’t have a clear path to the floor.

Nikola Jović

Still only 23 years-old, with real skill, and a contract that warrants much more production than he provided last season. His shooting percentages all across the board dropped, which usually says something about where a young player's confidence is.

Watching: whether he carves a role on this team or out. Miami has developed harder cases, but he's a forward on a roster with many of them. If a deadline deal happens, he's the most likely piece to move.

Nikola Jovic (#5) — Tim Reynolds | The Associated Press

Ryan Conwell

The Rookie shooter showed flashes in summer league. But, second-rounders rarely crack a Spoelstra rotation, and I'd be surprised if he plays meaningful minutes before January. His skill set though is exactly what this offense could use more of. He hit 37.6 percent from three across his college career on nearly seven attempts a game, led the ACC in makes and attempts, and shot 83.6 percent from the line.

Watching: the free throw number, honestly. It's one of the better public predictors of whether a young shooter's stroke translates, and his is excellent.

Dru Smith

The defensive specialist who does a bit of everything on that end when he's out there. He’s also a reliable 82.9 percent free throw shooter with good hands and real feel for the game. Availability and offensive consistency has been the whole story of his career.

Watching: Can he consistently hit from the perimeter and stay healthy?

Myron Gardner

Gardner has a tenacious mentality and is the kind of player that the organization, as well as the fan base, falls in love with. Oftentimes during last season, he would provide a much-needed spark of energy when he was out on the court. He’s a tenacious defender who will only get better on that side of the floor.

Watching: Can he take his game to another level offensively that would warrant him being a part of the rotation?

The 2026-2027 Miami Heat team camp photo 🔥

Championship number 4 coming soon.

(Via IG davionmitchell) pic.twitter.com/XVvhkRSuJn
— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) September 11, 2026

Now, on to the fifteenth spot. Miami is reportedly leaving it open going into camp rather than filling it. The buyout market may produce better options in February than free agency produces in September. Gabe Vincent is the most linked name still unsigned and Miami isn't chasing him. Holding the spot costs them nothing right now and gives them a place to put someone later. I don't hate it. There's no player out there that changes a playoff series.

The 9-man rotation that I expect most nights: Mitchell, Thompson, Wiggins, Giannis, Bam, Hardaway, Portis, Larsson, Niko or Richards. Fontecchio as the tenth when Miami needs shooting. Camp opens September 29. That’s when the fun will begin.

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