Who Will Be The Miami Heat's Breakout Player This Season?

The preseason is underway for the Miami Heat after a blockbuster offseason. All eyes around the league are focused on the Heat's shiny new acquisition, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Due to his addition, along with a plethora of other veterans coming in, the Heat are projected to finish the season among the best teams in the Eastern Conference. While the focus is rightfully on the new players, there are some players who have remained on the roster and could take a big leap this season. With that out of the way, let's look at three players on the roster who could be in store for big seasons:

1. Pelle Larsson

The argument can actually be made that his breakout campaign already happened last season as he is expected to be an integral piece of the Heat rotation this upcoming season and for the foreseeable future after signing a four-year, $60 million extension last month. Larsson, 25, was the team's second-round pick in 2024. He was a contributor out the gate but saw real shooting improvements this past season, shooting 49.6 percent from the field and averaging 11.4 points. The Heat's backcourt over the past two seasons was a bright spot despite a pretty damaging situation involving Terry Rozier, where he missed the entire 2025-26 season due to his involvement in a sports gambling fraud case. With Rozier out of the rotation along with Herro missing a decent amount of time due to injury, Larsson saw a massive uptick in playing time and started 54 games. With Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. coming in, Larsson will probably see less playing time but he has improved drastically each season and who knows what he can cook up this year.

2. Davion Mitchell

Mitchell, 28, has turned into a real contributor for this team after being an afterthought of a trade acquisition at the 2025 deadline. He may have reached his ceiling in terms of his production but there is a world where he can improve upon his numbers from last season with increased playing time. He is expected to enter the season as the team's starting point guard and the front office made no other moves this offseason to address the position meaning there seems to be a lot of good faith around Mitchell at the moment. He is also entering a contract year as his deal with Miami will expire after the regular season and players all around the league have outperformed expectations in expiring seasons.

3. Nikola Jovic

Jovic, 23, may be the most polarizing player on the roster at the moment. He signed a four-year rookie contract extension last year worth $62.5 million. Pat Riley really liked what he had to offer for the foreseeable future. However, it seems the team is already regretting that contract decision as Jovic was basically a non-factor down the stretch of this past season, only appearing in eight games post-January. Jovic is still quite young and has loads of potential despite multiple injury setbacks. Erik Spoelstra has unlocked some younger pieces' potential and Jovic could be the beneficiary of more playing time.