Heat, Pelle Larsson agree to four-year, $60 million extension, avoid 2027 free agency

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Sep 18, 2026

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MIAMI — The Miami Heat made a move ahead of their Sept. 29 start of training camp by reaching an agreement with guard Pelle Larsson on a four-year, $60 million extension, the South Florida Sun Sentinel confirmed Friday.

Larsson, who has been a breakout contributor after being selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft out of Arizona, otherwise would have been a restricted free agent.

The agreement starts at around $13.5 million for 2027-28, at a figure below the mid-level exception. There is a mutual option in the fourth and final year of the extension.

While the agreement provides security for Larsson, 25, it also stands as somewhat of a value agreement for the Heat, considering last summer the team signed forward Nikola Jovic, who had fallen out of Erik Spoelstra’s rotation, to a four-year, $62.5 million extension that begins this season.

Larsson had been eligible for an extension worth as much as $92.8 million over the four seasons.

Larsson, who emerged as a reliable starter last season, is expected to play off the bench this coming season in support of guard Klay Thompson.

Larsson is under contract for $2.3 million this season, on the final year of a three-year, $5.4 million contract signed after his rookie season.

Spoelstra at the end of last season emphasized the value of Larsson.

“Pelle had a massive jump just in terms of being the ultimate glue guy in any lineup,” Spoelstra said in the wake of the Heat’s 43-39 season and loss in the play-in opener. “But you can see how his offensive improvement came with confidence and the work behind the scenes.”

Larsson said he appreciated the need to make strides last season.

“Definitely a step up in my development,” he said. “And I think just getting more minutes, being on the court more and having more familiarity with everyone around here just made me comfortable to play the way I did.”

With more, he vowed, to come.

“I think I definitely have more to build on,” he said. “I don’t really see the whole season as one chapter. It’s kind of like gradually changing throughout the season, too. My first season, I didn’t play at all at the beginning. By the end, I really started to get into some flow, similar to this one.

“I think how I viewed my game at the end of the season was a lot different than how I viewed it in the beginning. I think it’s just going to gradually keep growing that way.”

Now he gets to grow with a revised roster built around prime offseason acquisition Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Ahead of the Antetokounmpo acquisition, Larsson appreciated next steps were needed.

“I think my game will always involve a lot of close-out situations, playing alongside with other great players and taking advantage of the little things that they create,” he said.

“So a kick-out shot, I want my shot to feel more comfortable and get better. And I want to shoot more threes as well going into next season.”

The agreement marks somewhat a change of approach for the Heat with supporting players, after, in recent years, allowing players such as Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson to depart ahead of contract years.

The next expected major contract move for the Heat is expected to come when Antetokounmpo’s window for a maximum extension opens Jan. 6, six months after his acquisition from the Milwaukee Bucks.