Pelle Larsson is making a strong case for Miami’s last starting spot, and he’s doing it far from South Florida.
The Heat already have four starters lined up with point guard Davion Mitchell, wing Andrew Wiggins, and big men Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. That leaves one opening at shooting guard, where Tim Hardaway Jr., Pelle Larsson, and Klay Thompson are all in the mix.
Hardaway brings real scoring punch, coming off a season in which he hit 40.7 percent from three. Thompson has the résumé of a deadeye, with four NBA championships and a place among the greatest shooters in league history. Both naturally fit a team looking for spacing.
But Larsson’s work in the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers is pushing the conversation in his direction.
Pelle Larsson drops 31 PTS, as he leads Sweden 🇸🇪 to a crucial victory over Finland away from home 🤯 #FIBAWC | #StepItUp pic.twitter.com/FLlozKi5EP
- FIBA Basketball World Cup 🏆 (@FIBAWC) August 27, 2026
All of the ways Pelle Larsson is scoring in these clips, he'll have the exact same looks this year for the Miami Heat: Filling the lane in transition, spot-up threes, attacking closeouts. Defensive attention will be on Giannis and Bam. Larsson finding openings and capitalizing on… https://t.co/7lHW0QDnLF
- Nathan Grubel (@DraftDeeper) August 28, 2026
The jumper is still the obvious question mark. Larsson shot 33.7 percent from three as a rookie in 2024-25 and followed that with 32.3 percent in 2025-26. That’s the piece working against him in a battle that otherwise leans his way.
And that’s the point: Larsson is already ahead in most of the areas that matter.
He finished the 2025-26 season with 11.4 points and 3.4 assists in 26.4 minutes per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 79.7 percent at the line. On a per-36 basis, that comes out to 15.6 points and 4.6 assists, with only 2.0 turnovers.
Among Heat perimeter players, only Mitchell averaged more assists than Larsson’s 4.6 per 36 in 2025-26. Hardaway and Thompson combined for 4.8.
Larsson also gives Miami more downhill pressure than the two veterans. He averaged 6.5 drives per game and 8.9 per 36 in 2025-26, and he shot 53.5 percent on those attempts. Hardaway and Thompson combined for 3.7 drives per game and 5.8 per 36, which puts Larsson well ahead in that category on his own.
Then there’s the defense, where the gap is even wider. Basketball Index had Larsson in the 94th percentile in perimeter isolation defense, the 69th percentile in rim deterrence, and the 92nd percentile in matchup difficulty. Hardaway checked in at the 27th, 72nd, and 41st percentiles in those same areas, while Thompson came in at 63rd, first, and 36th.
That’s why the debate may not be much of one if Larsson’s jumper keeps trending up.
What he’s shown in Europe suggests progress. His handle looks tighter, his finishing has more pop and control, and his shot appears more rhythmic than it did a year ago. He also buried stationary jumpers and showed the kind of slashing and defensive value Miami already knows he can provide.
Larsson is one of the most efficient off-ball movers on the roster too, ranking in the 75th percentile in off-ball movements points per 75 possessions, per Basketball Index. That matters on a team that already has Mitchell and Wiggins in the starting five and doesn’t need another pure spacer as much as it needs a complete perimeter player.
Hardaway and Thompson have the obvious selling points: shooting, experience, and name value. But Larsson brings more to the table as a defender, playmaker, and slasher, and his play in Europe is making it harder to ignore the possibility that his jumper is coming along too.
If he can live around 35 percent from deep in 2026-27, the Heat may not have much reason to look elsewhere.
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