Tyler Herro is going to enter the 2025-26 campaign with a target on his back. His contract situation and potential extension have surfaced as a major talking point among Miami Heat fans, and if he hits his ceiling, he can lead a young core of Miami players for the foreseeable future.
But ironically, Herro could benefit from having a target on his back when taking on defenders because there is one key area of his game that severely lags behind his peers if he is hoping to emerge as a perennial All-Star.
Tyler Herro needs to get to the free throw line more often
Miami finished the 2024-25 season 27th in free throw attempts per game. It didn't actually start out like that, and the Heat were top half of the league in November and December, but they fell off a cliff in this category during the back half of the season.
Herro is Exhibit A of a guy who has to find a way to get to the line more often in 2025-26.
On average, Herro shot 4.2 free throws per game, which was 29th in the NBA among guards. To put it in perspective, San Antonio rookie Stephon Castle also shot 4.2 free throws per game while playing nine fewer minutes per game.
In fact, among the top 50 guards in free throw attempts in 2024-25, Herro was 39th in free throws per minute. We're not saying he has to become Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but even Jayson Tatum was top ten among guards in free throw attempts despite taking more three-point shots per game than Herro.
Because if one wants to make the argument that Herro doesn't shoot free throws because he shoots more threes, he was 15th in free throws per minute among the top 20 guards in three-pointers attempted.
Translation: Three-point attempts aren't the sole reason why Herro doesn't get to the line more often.
If Herro wants to prove he is the guy in Miami and wants to be worthy of a length extension, then he has to get to the line more in 2025-26 and take advantage of the fact he is an 87% free-throw shooter.