Tyler Herro kicks off his All-Star Weekend by becoming fifth Heat player to win Three-Point Contest
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro’s second appearance in the NBA’s Three-Point Contest went much better than his first appearance.
How much better?
After being eliminated in the first round of the two-round, timed shooting competition during the league’s 2023 All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, Herro won Saturday night’s Three-Point Contest at Chase Center in San Francisco.
“It means a lot,” Herro said of winning the contest. “I feel like a lot of great shooters, a lot of great players, some of the greats to play this game have won this competition. Just happy to put my name in the history books for All-Star Weekend.”
With the top three first-round scores form the eight-player field advancing to the championship round, Herro recorded the third-best first-round score (19) on Saturday to keep his hopes of winning the competition alive.
It then came down to Herro, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland and Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield.
But it was Herro that emerged victorious, posting a score of 24 in the final round to come away with the three-point crown.
Hield finished as the runner-up with a score of 23 and Garland came in third place with a score of 19 in the championship round.
“I was definitely nervous going into the first round,” Herro said. “But I thought I shot it pretty well in the second round, and then Buddy had the chance to tie it at the end. Obviously a great competition, a bunch of great shooters.”
The difference for Herro proved to be that he made both “Starry Range” balls worth three points each in the championship round. Hield made just one of the two “Starry Range” balls, ending up one point short of tying Herro’s score.
Herro became the fifth Heat player to win the Three-Point Contest in franchise history, joining Glen Rice (1995), Jason Kapono (2007), Daequan Cook (2009) and James Jones (2011).
The Heat now stands alone as the only NBA team with five Three-Point Contest trophies. The Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics have the second most three-point crowns with four.
With Heat president Pat Riley watching on at Chase Center, Herro was the Heat’s only representative in the three events during this year’s All-Star Saturday Night. Riley celebrated Herro’s moment from his seat in the San Francisco arena.
“I was happy I won, obviously,” Herro told the Associated Press. “But I think it hit me after seeing Pat up there. We pointed to each other. I know how much he believes in me, for real. And that means a lot.”
Herro, 25, is averaging career-highs in points (23.9 per game), rebounds (5.5) and assists (5.5) while shooting a career-best 46.5 percent from the field this season. He’s also shooting an efficient 38 percent on a career-high 9.7 three-point attempts per game and has missed just two of the Heat’s 53 games this season.
Herro’s moment on Saturday comes in the middle of what has been a rough season for the Heat, which enters the All-Star break on a four-game losing skid and in ninth place in the East. But after winning the Three-Point Contest on Saturday, Herro said he believes the Heat’s best basketball is ahead.
“Honestly, I think the record isn’t what we want it to be, but I feel like there’s a breath of fresh air around our locker room, our arena, our city,” Herro said. “I think it’s well before this trophy was won. I think there’s a breath of fresh air just around the whole organization, and I’m happy to represent us and be here for our organization and our city, just to represent and win this competition.”
As for the other two events on All-Star Saturday Night, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ two-man team of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley won the Skills Challenge and Orlando Magic guard Mac McClung won the Slam Dunk Contest for the third straight year.
Herro’s All-Star Weekend is already a memorable and successful one after winning Saturday’s Three-Point Contest. But Herro’s All-Star Weekend isn’t over yet, as he’ll make his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday (8 p.m., TNT) as the Heat’s lone All-Star.
TRADE REACTION
More than a week after the Jimmy Butler trade became official on Feb. 6, Herro was asked about his former teammate and one of his new teammates during All-Star Media Day on Saturday afternoon.
“Jimmy is a great leader,” Herro said when asked what the Golden State Warriors are getting in Butler. “He leads by example. He comes in every single day with a hard hat, puts his hat on and he gets to work. He’s a winner. He wants to win. So I’m sure the fans out here in San Fran and Oakland will definitely love Jimmy and we’ll miss him down in Miami.”
While the Heat sent Butler to the Warriors, the Heat acquired Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick from the Warriors and Davion Mitchell from the Toronto Raptors in return.
“I love playing with Wiggs,” Herro said Saturday when asked about Wiggins. “I know how much he was loved out here in San Fran and how much he loved being here. So just trying to make him feel comfortable in Miami. He’s only played one or two games [with us] so far. So after the break, it will be fun to get up to speed with him.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2025 at 9:51 PM.
