Miami Heat: Tyler Herro Earns The 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man Of The Year

On Tuesday evening, the NBA announced that Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat has been named the 2021-22 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Udonis Haslem broke the news to Tyler Herro during the team’s practice. Shortly after the announcement was made and in an interview with TNT, Herro said that “It meant everything just to get the award from OG [Haslem] and the rest of my teammates.”

He also stated that it “couldn’t happen without them” and that “they allow me to be myself coming off the bench”.

He would thank them all again, his “teammates, coaches,” and “especially OG.”

Herro received 96 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers finished in second place with three first-place votes while Phoenix Suns forward, Cameron Johnson, finished in third place with one first-place vote.

The Miami Heat now have their first NBA 6MOY award in franchise history. Hopefully, Tyler Herro takes this energy with him throughout the playoffs.

“It means a lot,” Herro said. “I accepted the sixth-man role for a reason. I wanted to be the best sixth man in the league.”

In his third season with the Miami Heat, Herro averaged 20.7 points (the highest scoring average as a reserve in the NBA), five rebounds, and four assists across 32.6 minutes played in 66 games.

Herro helped the Heat finish a 53-29 record and earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference. He would also set a single-season franchise record with 1,162 points off the bench.

Herro had eight 30-point games off the bench this season, more than any other three players combined. The last time a reserve had more than eight 30-point games was during the 2017-18 season when Lou Williams had 11 for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Before that, it was 1989-90, when Ricky Pierce had 17 for Milwaukee. He is also the first Heat player to win the award.

Love would even tweet out his reaction to the announcement, fully equipped with a showing of his love for Tyler Herro’s game. It was the perfect cherry on top of Herro’s Monday night.

Herro would lead the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, finishing the game with 25 points, seven assists, and a rebound while shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three.

Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat will be back at it on Wednesday, May 4, in Game 2 against the Sixers. Hopefully, the good feeling rings all the way through the end of this series, hopefully, a Miami Heat series victory.