Herro’s ability to leap obstacles in a single bound is rooted in hard work
Tyler Herro leans against a wall outside the Miami Heat locker room at FTX Arena. A photograph of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James celebrating the 2012 championship is wallpapered just over his left shoulder.
“I’ve been here for three years,” Herro says, standing in the long stretch of red-carpeted hallway between the court and the locker room that the team deems Championship Alley. “It’s normal to me now.”
It’s a Saturday morning in early December and Herro, 22, is at ease. Much has changed since he helped the Heat make the 2020 Finals. Herro is no longer the snarling rookie surprising onlookers on the NBA’s pandemic stage, when he scored 37 points in the Eastern Conference finals — the second most in playoff history by anyone younger than 21, behind only Magic Johnson.
In the 17 months since, he has witnessed a fanbase embrace him, lost his anonymity and starred in music videos. He was also benched, tossed into trade rumors and forced to reconsider his own career expectations. He averaged just 9.3 points on 31.6 percent shooting in Miami’s first-round playoff sweep to the Milwaukee Bucks last season — a far cry from his record-setting bubble run.
“If last year didn’t happen I probably wouldn’t be where I’m at right now,” Herro says. “I just took it as motivation to get myself better, mentally and physically.”
Now Herro is 10 pounds heavier, having added muscle in his first full-length NBA offseason. He has also added to his bag of moves and is the front-runner for Sixth Man of the Year. His scoring average of 21 points leads all reserves in the NBA (Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is second with 15.9 points per game) and his 29 games with at least 20 points off the bench is a single-season franchise record (Dwyane Wade is second with 15).
How far Herro can go on this trajectory is the question that will determine the Heat’s ceiling, now and in the future. Sixth Man of the Year? All-Star? Franchise building block?
“What does he truly want?” John Calipari, who coached Herro at Kentucky, asks rhetorically during a phone call. “He will chase it until it happens.”
Says Herro: “I can definitely take it to another level.”
POPPING THE BUBBLE
When Herro returned from the Walt Disney World bubble in the summer of 2020 he could hardly dine in Miami without being asked for a selfie. His scorching playoff run had made him a household name, and he intended to make the most of his newfound fame. In addition to rubbing shoulders with celebrities in South Beach, Herro sought out to establish his brand and burgeoning fortune.
However the shortened, 71-day offseason prevented Herro from getting the R&R he needed after the longest season in league history and from working on his game the way he had in the past.
At Kentucky, team managers would arrive to the basketball facility before sunrise and have to walk over Herro’s sleeping body. By the time Calipari would arrive at his office, team managers were debating whether Herro slept there over night or had gotten to the facility for one of his 5 a.m. workouts. Herro worked out three or four times a day, between classes, games and practices. Calipari would have to poke his head out from his office on night’s before games and beg Herro to stop shooting so he could be fresh for the next day.
“Kentucky was the lifeline to get me to the league,” Herro says. “I had the opportunity and I didn’t want to let it slip.”
Herro prides himself in the substance that buoys his sizzle, but last season basketball got buried beneath other scattered priorities. When the Heat handed him more responsibility as the team’s starting point guard, for the first time in his career he failed to live up to expectations rather than exceed them. He started his first 14 games before getting benched, and his role fluctuated for the rest of the season. He was thrown into fake trades for James Harden and Kyle Lowry, and trade rumors followed him into the summer.
“It’s a lot mentally to try to block the noise out,” Herro says. “I knew that I would eventually get to an offseason where I could relax and decompress and get myself back to where I wanted to be.”
The Heat’s front office still believed in Herro but needed to see a meaningful leap going into his third season.
Herro was put on a strict plan to add muscle so he could be stronger and withstand defenders trying to bump him off his spots. He worked with Miami’s strength coach Eric Foran and his personal chef packed five meals a day with protein, vegetables and whole grains. Herro also teamed up with longtime NBA skills coach Drew Hanlen, intent on becoming a better all-around scorer.
The three-a-days were back. Herro would lift in the gym, then Hanlen would coach him through a skills session and a shooting session. Hanlen watched every shot from Herro’s first two seasons and made him a video of what needed to improve. Herro was releasing the ball on his way down and needed to broaden his base when he elevated. They pored over film of the league’s best shot-creators — Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Trae Young, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, James Harden, Bradley Beal — and studied how they move to their spots on the court.
This is Herro’s hidden superpower: Curiosity. At Kentucky, he would pull aside opponents after games and ask them about a particular dribble move. During the summer, Herro would arrive to Hanlen’s Los Angeles gym early to observe Beal (another Hanlen client) in person.
Herro filled pages of notebooks with observations and moves he wanted to add to his own game: Harden’s step-back, Curry’s ability to relocate, Booker’s midrange footwork. He sent those reports to Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn and drilled these new moves with Hanlen. He would sometimes spend upwards of two hours trying to perfect a single move or combination.
By the end of the summer, Herro was more confident in his floater, step-back jumper and midrange footwork and had a noticeably stronger frame. Friends joked that he was wearing more tank tops in September than he was in July.
“More than anything he’s not able to get pressured out of his spots as much,” says Quinn, who works most closely with Herro during the season. “His strength and skill allow him to be in more control of where he wants to go.”
“Love the confidence he is playing with,” says Hanlen.
Finding his edge
Nowadays, Herro’s snarl is back. With just a few weeks left in the season, Herro has twice as many 30-point games (six) as he did his first two years combined, leads the Heat in total points and shots per game and is the betting favorite to become the first Heat player to win Sixth Man of the Year.
“If that’s my role,” Herro says, “why not try to be the best Sixth Man in the league?”
But Herro hasn’t kept it a secret that he aims to start. The Heat want Herro to keep adding strength, but not at the expense of his speed and quickness. His first step has never been better. Improved balance allows him to use that speed to get defenders back-peddling before hitting them with a stop-and-pop jumper. In Miami’s egalitarian offense, he adds a needed dose of do-it-your-self shot-making.
“He’s one of the most skilled basketball players I’ve ever seen,” says teammate Udonis Haslem.
Herro’s next step must be as a playmaker. Passing does not come naturally to him. There were times at Kentucky when Calipari banned Herro from passing altogether. “Every time you pass you help them,” he would say.
Herro has come a long way, and quickly. He’s averaging a career-high in assists and the Heat trusts him to be the lead playmaker off the bench. Part of his film diet is watching great passers such as Paul, Young and Harden, but also learning from his own missed opportunities.
During a Jan. 3 game against the Warriors, Herro struggled to navigate Golden State’s trapping defense and finished with just four assists to three turnovers on an inefficient 7-for-23 shooting. After the game, Quinn and head coach Erik Spoelstra reviewed the tape with an emphasis on shot selection and timing of passes.
Two nights later in Portland, Herro drove left, dragged the defense into the paint and with both hands threw a dart to Duncan Robinson in the right corner. As Robinson’s shot dropped through the net, Quinn excitedly rose from his seat and fist-pumped in Herro’s direction. It was a eureka moment, and exactly what Miami needs from Herro.
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“He’s really cataloging plays and schemes and different ways to manipulate the defense and he’s really improving in that area,” Spoelstra said. “His gift is scoring but he is also a student and understands what we need offensively.”
These days, Herro’s Instagram stories are free from celebrity cameos and are instead filled with pictures of his daughter, Zya, who he and his girlfriend Katya Elise Henry welcomed in September, and celebrations of his teammates.
“He’s simplified some things,” Haslem said, “and it’s just about basketball and being a dad.”
At FTX Arena, fans hold their collective breath every time Herro touches the ball. Like the stars he studies, there’s a sense of What’s he gonna do next? The dazzling dribble moves, fancy footwork and 30-footers have made Herro a household name in Miami. He hopes his play one day elevates him to the national conversation.
“I want to be one of the best players to play during my time,” Herro said. “I just want to continue to get better every single year.”