Heat’s Precious Achiuwa unable to follow Nunn, Herro, comes up well short for NBA All-Rookie

A year after Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro were named to NBA All-Rookie teams, Miami Heat 2020 first-round pick Precious Achiuwa was unable to follow in their footsteps.

But he did follow in the footsteps of Bam Adebayo, so there is that.

Despite being named to a roster at midseason for the NBA Rising Stars game, an event that was not played due to the pandemic, Achiuwa fell short of one of the 10 spots on the league’s All-Rookie teams that were announced Thursday night.

Last season, Nunn, the undrafted guard who was runner-up to Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant for 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year, was named first-team All-Rookie, with Herro, selected at No. 13 in the 2019 NBA draft, named second-team All-Rookie.

But Adebayo, who since has emerged as an elite NBA big man, did not make either All-Rookie team in 2018, after being selected No. 14 in the 2017 NBA draft.

The Heat, who routinely have traded their draft picks for veteran talent under Pat Riley, had gone four years without an All-Rookie selection before Nunn and Herro last year.

In fact, since Michael Beasley was named first-team All-Rookie in 2009 and Mario Chalmers second-team All-Rookie that year, the Heat’s only All-Rookie selection before Nunn and Herro had been 2015 first-round pick Justise Winslow, who was second-team in 2016.

Achiuwa, selected at No. 20 out of Memphis in November, played as the primary backup to Adebayo at center over the first half of the season. But the eventual additions of veterans Trevor Ariza and Dewayne Dedmon pushed him out of the rotation, with the 6-foot-8 rookie playing only 12 minutes, 18 seconds in the Heat’s 4-0 first-round playoff sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 21-year-old native of Nigeria nonetheless had his moments, with double-digit rebounds in each of his four starts. He, in fact, joined Kurt Thomas the only Heat rookies to record double-doubles in their first two NBA starts, with Thomas doing it in 1995.

Achiuwa led the Heat in scoring once and in rebounding four times.

Achiuwa said at season’s end that he appreciates considerable work remains.

“The time I was on the court this year, for me, it was just understanding the game on the defensive side of the ball, just understanding reads, tendencies and what teams and players like to do,” he said. “And for me, it’s just having a better understanding of the game, a better IQ for the game, a better feel for the game.

“And this summer, I just look forward helping that overall part of my game, just getting better at everything that I do, working on my entire game, especially my jump shot. That’s going to be a big focus for me this summer.”

Named first-team All-Rookie on Thursday were 2021 Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball, along with Rookie of the Year runner-up Anthony Edwards, as well as Tyrese Haliburton, Saddiq Bey and Jae’Sean Tate.

Named second-team All-Rookie were Isaac Okoro, Isaiah Stewart, Immanuel Quickley, Demond Bane and Patrick Williams.

The only players named to one of the teams who were selected in the 2020 draft after Achiuwa were Quickley (No. 25) and Bane (No. 30).

Twelve other players received votes from the media panel, with Achiuwa not among that group.

The Heat have had 13 players selected All-Rookie, with Dwyane Wade, in 2004, the team’s only unanimous first-team selection. The first-team All-Rookie selections over the Heat’s 33 seasons have been Sherman Douglas (1990), Steve Smith (1992), Caron Butler (2003), Wade (2004), Beasley (2009) and Nunn (2020). The team’s second-team selections have been Kevin Edwards (1989), Glen Rice (1990), Willie Burton (1991), Udonis Haslem (2004), Chalmers (2009), Winslow (2016) and Herro (2020).

The Heat’s selection wait likely will last for more than another year, with the team without picks in either round of this year’s draft.