Pelle Larsson relished the opportunity to get more on-ball reps this summer - Hot Hot Hoops

Pelle Larsson Heat In five Summer League games, Heat second-year guard Pelle Larsson averaged 17.4 points on 60.6 percent true shooting. (Rich Storry / Getty Images)

Pelle Larsson’s time with the 2025 Miami Heat Summer League came to a close after Monday’s win against the Boston Celtics.

No, the second-year guard wasn’t being shut down — though under normal circumstances, it probably would’ve been the right call.

Larsson left for Europe this week to help his home country, Sweden, prepare for this fall’s EuroBasket, which begins in late August.

There’s no doubt that Larsson’s been the Heat’s best player in Summer League. He acted as the team’s primary initiator and creator. And the 6-foot-5 guard spoke about getting those reps in this kind of environment after primarily operating off-ball with the Heat as a rookie.

“(It’s a) very, very good experience for me,” Larsson said, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I’m going to have more of it this summer with the national team, as well. So I just got to keep growing with that. I had too many, maybe, lapses of focus handling the ball (today). But it’s a great learning experience.

“Maybe if I don’t get as many in one single game, I’ll still get some of them. So when I get those opportunities, I need to make sure I’m ready and capable. It’s just building that confidence and knowledge.”

“I’m going to have more of it this summer with the national team, as… pic.twitter.com/RPyAAXHgK1

— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) July 16, 2025

While Larsson, 24, said during his end-of-season press conference that he wanted to improve everything, the skill that I wanted him to improve most was his ballhandling if his role was going to increase.

Here’s what I wrote about him in late May:

“Larsson didn’t shoot the ball particularly well as a rookie, but he has a strong shooting track record dating back to his freshman season at Utah. While that may be a sticking point, I’m not overly concerned about it in the long term. Not that I am super concerned about his ballhandling either, but it must improve considering how frequently he tried to create getting downhill. Larsson was an adept decision-maker and was always very physical, but his ballhandling was oftentimes shaky in traffic. I foresee his role expanding in his second year (depending on how the rest of the roster is shaped), so I think improving his handle needs to be a priority.”

While we’re dealing with a microscopic sample of five games against lower-level competition, I thought Larsson’s ballhandling and downhill creation were fairly solid, for the most part. The reps weren’t always perfect, but there was tangible improvement.

He didn’t shoot the ball well from the floor, partially due to the on-ball burden he had (26.3 USG%), but he still averaged 17.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 60.6 percent true shooting. Once again, I’m not worried that he won’t be able to shoot it the more he continues to acclimate to the NBA. His track record is stable enough.

I’d be lying to tell you if I wasn’t excited to watch Larsson thrive on the European stage for Sweden — while also curious to see what his role looks like. There will be two other Heat players who are expected to partake in EuroBasket: Nikola Jovic (Serbia) and Simone Fontecchio (Italy).

As the roster is currently constructed, there’s a world where Larsson becomes an impact rotation player off the bench. I foresee him having more on-ball responsibility as a sophomore, so taking what he’s gathered over the last year-plus and continuing to improve is crucial — whether it’s on- or off-the-ball.

The former No. 44 overall pick has the skillset to be very impactful on both ends — he’ll just have to continue to put the pieces together as time goes on.

Pelle Larsson relished the opportunity to get more on-ball reps this summer – Hot Hot Hoops

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