After the Miami Heat’s Precious Achiuwa reunion, the much needed backup big addition likely finalizes the official 15-man roster for the 2025-26 season.
(Photo via Sun Sentinel)
Early on Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news on the Miami Heat and free agent big Precious Achiuwa agreeing to a one-year deal. It will be a reunion for the former 2020 Heat first-round draft pick with Achiuwa, as Pat Riley and the front office ultimately address their backup center hole prior to the start of the upcoming 2025-26 campaign.
In Achiuwa’s lone rookie season in Miami, the 6-foot-8 big averaged just 5.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks on 54% shooting across 61 appearances.
He would then go on to be traded, along with Heat Legend Goran Dragic, in the summer of 2021 to bring in Kyle Lowry. In his career stops after the Heat in stints with the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks, those numbers have increased since to 8.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.7 blocks per game.
However, his entire five-year career has consisted of being in a bench role.
From 2020-2025, his stats per 36 minutes include an encouraging 10.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals. At the age of 26, Achiuwa has still had that athletic burst on display in recent years as a backup. He remains a serviceable option for what this Heat roster desperately needed, and is familiar with the system here.
His one-year deal is also non-guaranteed— per the Miami Herald. So it won’t have any impact on Miami’s salary cap or tax implications.
The Miami Heat’s updated and likely final 15-man 2025-26 roster:
PG: Herro, Mitchell, Rozier, Jakucionis
SG: Powell, Smith, Larsson
SF: Wiggins, Jaquez Jr., Fontecchio
PF: Adebayo, Jovic, Johnson
C: Ware, Achiuwa
For the Heat to address a long overdue question mark in their depth chart— which had some of the media talking about a three-man frontcourt rotation of Bam Adebayo, Kel’el Ware, and Nikola Jovic— the Achiuwa signing was a home run.
He rejoins the franchise that had drafted him on a team friendly deal, and provides a needed body to support Adebayo and Ware down low. Despite being an undersized big, Achiuwa has plenty of bounce, and length, with his 7-foot-2 wingspan.
It provides much more clarity in terms of players knowing their roles across the roster, especially at full strength once Tyler Herro returns from his offseason ankle injury come mid-November.
The biggest thing in addressing some big man depth comes with the hopeful leap from Jovic. He can now man down a much more comfortable forward position in coach Erik Spoelstra’s lineups as a natural ball handler and playmaker.
Additionally, Adebayo can continue to get more reps at his preferred power forward slot.
With the Heat’s new season right around the corner, it feels good to see things through after Achiuwa’s return, with what is now likely to be the team’s official 15-man roster.
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