“I know he’s on this roster for a reason” said Jimmy Butler a few weeks ago, when discussing Pelle Larsson. The ongoing regular season has seen several rookies like Dalton Knecht and Jared McCain make a mark. Pelle Larsson hasn’t been that far behind in that regard. The 5.9 points he has averaged till now aren’t too impressive. However, the player is showing major improvement, which ultimately lead to him dropping his career-high score against the Dallas Mavericks. For Jimmy Butler, it was nothing short of déjà vu.

In the aftermath of the Heat-Mavericks matchup, Butler engaged in a Q&A session with a few media members. One of them asked the star player about Pelle’s increase in minutes, and what it meant to him personally. Butler sent his flowers to the rookie by highlighting how Pelle took upon himself to adopt every role on the court. From shooting and handling to finishing and guarding, the rookie spread himself across the court. This is what makes Butler feel that head coach Erik Spoelstra will not look to benching him too much.

“I always see him in early, leaving late,” said Butler. “And honestly, he reminds me of myself whenever I was younger in this league. He could probably shoot the ball a lot better than I could though.”

Jimmy Butler does carry some truth in his remark about Pelle being a better shooter. During his own rookie season, the small forward scored even lower than Pelle, and averaged 2.6 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists over the course of 42 games. On the shooting front, he averaged 0.8-1.9 (40.5%) field goals, 0-0.3 (18.2%) three-pointers, and 1-1.3 (76.8%) free throws. In comparison, the 23-year-old Swedish star averaged 2.2-3.8 (58.8%) field goals, 0.7-1.6 (42.9%) three-pointers, and 0.8-1.3 (58.3%) free throws. Therefore, if Jimmy Butler can make his status rise after a poor start, then why can’t Pelle?

If the Miami Heat’s recent game was an indication, it is that Pelle holds the potential to go beyond his usual means. The player had averaged only 13.1 minutes on the court in his first 8 games. However, the playtime was increased to 37 minutes for the Heat-Mavericks matchup. Pelle made good use of it, and scored 14 points by going 6-8 (75%) with his field goals, 1-2 (50%) with his three-pointers, and 1-2 (50%) with his free throws. Thanks to this performance, Pelle Larsson has now become another rookie NBA enthusiasts need to watch out for. After all, for this performance to come out from the 44 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft is no mere feat.

Jimmy Butler handing out the praise is a sign that the rookie seems to have adjusted with his new team. Even the 23-year-old acknowledges this, and appreciates everything that comes with it.

Pelle Larsson discusses forming a bond with Jimmy Butler and co: “Definitely getting closer to everyone”

The journey of getting more minutes isn’t an easy one. While one has to perform well on the court, they also have to built enough trust amongst their peers. Pelle discussed making the effort during a recent interview, stating “It’s really good. I think every day more and more, you spend a lot of time with each other, especially on this past road trip we were gone like two weeks, so you got nothing but time with each other. So, yeah, definitely getting closer to everyone.”

Understanding the process, the rookie realizes that he has to be a role player. Therefore, he added “You don’t know if you’re going to get in a game or if you’re gonna get to play 25, so you just gotta be ready when they put you in. And that’s something I’m working on and gonna have a lot of use of in my career.”

From playing for 8 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers to 37 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks, the coaches asked Pelle Larsson to be ready. And ready, he was. The further the NBA season continues on, the more interesting it will be to see just how much more can the player contribute in helping out Jimmy Butler and co.