The brightest spot of an up and down 2024-25 campaign has undoubtedly been the rise of Tyler Herro. The sixth-year combo guard is in the midst of a true breakout season, and one that could lead to his first ever NBA All-Star appearance.
When it comes to Herro’s overall development, nobody ever questioned the overall talent and skill set. He is a former Sixth Man of the Year award winner, and a polarizing household name in the Miami Heat’s system.
His growth on the court has led to an assortment of adjustments to his game. Herro has altered his shot diet to less midrange attempts and more 3-point volume and rim attacks— which has led to his most efficient offensive season yet. But it has been more than just the scoring production, as he is forming into a more consistent all-around player.
It is more than just the uptick with his passing and rebounding, there’s been a significant improvement in his overall IQ and defensive impact. He is providing better individual defense and getting much more active in the passing lanes.
Most importantly, Herro has been healthy.
Tyler Herro is the ONLY Miami Heat player to appear in every game this season
— All U Can Heat (@AllUCanHeat1) January 16, 2025
24.0 PPG | 5.7 RPG | 5.1 APG | 47% FG | 40% 3P
Career-high’s in every single one of those statistics.📈 pic.twitter.com/RZZ9zh4RL0
After appearing in a career-low 42 games last season, Pat Riley challenged Herro’s availability issues at last year’s end of season press conference, referring to him as “fragile.” And unlike another Heat star, he has proved Riley’s comments wrong to motivate himself for a breakout year.
When recently asked by Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald about Riley’s comments, Herro said that he knew he needed to find a way to play in more games:
“I’m a perfectionist in my own way … I don’t need anyone to tell me I’m fragile or I haven’t played as many games. I’m aware of what’s going on. I know I missed the last two seasons, with the hand injury and half the season last year. I’ve seen the comments coach Riley said. In my own world, I was going to try to play more games on my own either way. I took his words, obviously, into consideration and used it as motivation as I always do.”
He's always had that rare offensive talent, he just needed to maintain a healthy campaign to put it all together consistently. Adjustments to his shot diet and efficiency have certainly helped as well.
Over the Heat’s six-game, West-coast trip, Herro averaged 26.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists on 47% shooting. Jimmy Butler’s absence has led to more responsibility in what has already been an increased offensive usage season for the rising guard.
It is safe to say that he has impressed in a plethora of different ways and situations during games all year long.
The maturity as both a player and person off the court has been beautiful to witness. Some players around the league would hear comments from their team president like that and take it the wrong way. Ultimately, Riley has seen something in Herro all these years and just wants to see the best version of his 24 year-old talent. And his emergence has been worth the wait.
Whether Herro can snag a reserve spot on this year’s All-Star team remains to be seen, but if not, it could go down as a legitimate snub.