There is little doubt that Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro is a rising star.
The 25-year-old shooting guard was just named to his first All-Star Game during a season of transition for the franchise. Herro is averaging a career-high 23.9 points, 5.5 assists and 5.5 assists per game on 46.5% shooting from the field.
The sixth-year veteran is doing so as the new face of the Heat following the trade of Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors. Butler had led the Heat to two Finals appearances while bringing the franchise back to title contention in the post-LeBron James era. During the Butler era, the Heat advanced to the playoffs every season, with two Finals appearances and three Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
Herro — who was a member of the Heat during each one of those seasons — is aiming to bring the Heat back to that level of contention. The All-Star guard won the 3-Point Shooting Contest during All-Star weekend, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to do so. That matches the Boston Celtics for the most winners in the contest’s history.
“That’s a good fact right there,” Herro says in an exclusive interview with Basketball Insiders when it pertains to the Heat tying the Celtics for most winners in the 3-Point Shooting Contest’s history. “Any way we can outdo the Celtics, we’d love to do that down here in Miami. We have a love-hate relationship with them, a great rivalry going. We’re trying to get back to that point that they’re at right now, contending every year, winning a lot of games at the top of the East.
“We’re trying to get to that point again,” Herro continues to say.
The Heat, amid injuries and the drama surrounding Butler’s uncertain future prior to his trade, have struggled this season. They don’t have the look of a contender — something that Herro recently acknowledged — and are off to a 25-28 start this season, the ninth-best mark in the East. They’re three games behind the Detroit Pistons for the sixth seed in the East, which would ensure avoiding the play-in tournament.
Herro: I Used To Watch Andrew Wiggins’ High School Mixtapes
It’s worth noting that the Heat went 8-13 following Butler’s remarks after their loss to the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 2. The hope is that bringing in a former AlL-Star and NBA champion in Andrew Wiggins — along with other key pieces down the road — will help bring the Heat back into that elite tier. Herro himself says that he doesn’t believe Miami is that “far off” from being title contenders again.
”Wiggins is an amazing person, most importantly, we all know what he does on the basketball court,” says Herro. “He’s a great person. Really excited to be his teammate.”
Wiggins will look to recapture some of the defensive tenacity and form that made him an All-Star and NBA champion during the 2021-22 season. The former No. 1 overall pick was regarded as the team’s top perimeter defender and recorded a defensive rating of 109. His defensive rating has since ballooned to 115 this season.
”I’ve been a fan of Andrew Wiggins for a long time before the NBA,” says Herro. “I remember his high school mixtapes and all that kind of stuff. Just excited to play with him. Such a good dude. We just got to make Miami home for him.”
The Heat also acquired veteran Kyle Anderson and former first-round pick Davion Mitchell in the trade.
”Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, and Kyle Anderson, all are great guys, great teammates, great players,” says Herro. “Most importantly, they’re all really good people. So happy to have them.”
Herro mentions looking to beat the Butler-led Warriors when they visit Miami on March 25.
“I’ll try, we’ve got to get the dub,” when asked about facing the Warriors. “That’s the most important, we’ve got to get the win.”
Herro: I Want Multiple Heat All-Stars Next Year
When asked about wanting to return to the All-Star Game and making it a yearly thing, Herro acknowledged that’s an objective moving forward.
However, he also mentioned wanting to get more Heat players in there after the Cleveland Cavaliers had an All Star-high of three players with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland.
”Yeah, I was a little jealous,” says Herro. “I saw the Cavs had a couple guys in there, like two or three players. Next year and going forward, we’re gonna try to be at the top of the East so that we can get a couple more guys in besides myself, Bam (Adebayo), Ke’el (Ware) Jaime (Jacquez), Nikola (Jovic), young guys ready to continue to get better.”
He playfully says he didn’t enjoy the new All-Star Game format — games ended at 40 points for the winner — after scoring six points in eight minutes of action as his team, “Kenny’s Young Stars” lost to “Chuck’s Global Stars.” However, he did say he’s aiming to defend his crown in the 3-Point shooting contest.
“No, I didn’t even play,” says Herro while laughing on if he enjoyed the new All-Star Game format.
Herro makes sure to finish his thought by saying he’s looking to return to the All-Star Game.
”We’ll see what happens,” says Herro when it pertains to making another All-Star appearance. “But it was a lot of fun, a very eventful weekend. It was a great first experience. I would love to go back for sure.”
