The Miami Heat are reportedly reuniting with a familiar face just before the start of training camp, with Shams Charania of ESPN breaking the news that free agent Precious Achiuwa is going back to South Florida for the 2025-26 NBA season.
The big man was selected 20th overall by the Heat in the 2020 NBA Draft before spending productive stints with the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks, his most recent team and with whom he averaged 6.6 PPG and 5.6 RPG in its recent run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Achiuwa now brings to Miami a much-needed big man for the rotation, adding depth at the center position. Chances are Kel’el Ware continues to start, with Achiuwa getting minutes off the bench. However, training camp could give the latter a chance to compete for a starting spot.
- PG: Davion Mitchell
- SG: Norman Powell
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Bam Adebayo
- C: Kel’el Ware/Precious Achiuwa
Precious Achiuwa in action for the Heat.
According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, Achiuwa’s return to the Heat is on a fully non-guaranteed one-year contract. However, the Heat will need to release one of their Exhibit 10 players to open a preseason roster spot for Achiuwa.
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Heat recently lost a key player to start the NBA season
Achiuwa’s return is good news for a team that recently received a huge setback with one of its best players ruled out for the start of the 2025-26 NBA season. We’re talking about none other than Tyler Herro, who made the All-Star last year.
After dealing with pain throughout the offseason and pushing the decision to see if he could avoid going under the knife, Herro ultimately had to undergo surgery on his left foot last week.
Consequently, the Heat are expected to miss Herro for approximately eight weeks, which forces them to start the new season without their star guard. With Herro out, Powell is expected to step up in offense after arriving via trade in the offseason. Wiggins, subject of trade rumors involving the Los Angeles Lakers, will also have to produce, with Alec Burks possibly contributing off the bench.
Achiuwa provides Heat much-needed depth at center
In the meantime, the Heat addressed a big need in their frontcourt, an area where they struggled last season. Miami has seen a better version of Adebayo at power forward, but Ware has often left a lot to be desired at center, making understandable mistakes for a rookie.
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On top of that, Nikola Jovic missed time due to injury and his inexperience also showed at times. Therefore, Achiuwa is bringing something the Heat are missing in that area: experience. With five NBA seasons under his belt, he’s a much more mature player than the one who started his career in Miami. We’ll have to wait and see what Erik Spoelstra gets from Achiuwa this time.
