Heat’s Tyler Herro caps off his memorable weekend with his first All-Star Game: ‘Just super grateful’
On Saturday night, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro won the NBA’s Three-Point Contest. On Sunday night, Herro capped off his memorable All-Star Weekend by playing in his first NBA All-Star Game.
But Herro’s first All-Star Game experience didn’t last long, as his team (Kenny’s Young Stars) fell to Chuck’s Global Stars 41-32 on Sunday night in the first semifinal matchup of the All-Star Game’s new four-team tournament at Chase Center in San Francisco.
With no clock used since there was a target score of 40 for each of the All-Star tournament’s three games, Herro’s team actually led 27-26. But Chuck’s Global Stars closed the game on a 15-5 run to reach the target score of 40 first behind a game-high 12 points from Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“It was a short quick burst, honestly,” said Herro, who played only eight minutes in the game up to 40 points. “I broke like not even a half sweat. But it was a great experience all weekend, just to be here from Friday to Sunday night. Just super grateful to be here. It was the first time this format was brought upon us and it is what it is.”
Herro, 25, finished his first All-Star Game with six points on 2-of-4 shooting from three-point range and one assist. As the Heat’s lone All-Star this season, Herro started for Kenny’s Young Stars.
Herro scored six of his team’s first 12 points, making his first two three-point attempts. But he didn’t score again, missing his final two shots from behind the arc.
This season’s All-Star Game looked different, featuring a mini-tournament with four teams for the first time.
Each team had eight players and was named for a TNT NBA analyst. The 24 NBA All-Star selections were divided evenly into three teams, with the rosters drafted by TNT’s “Inside the NBA” commentators and honorary team general managers Charles Barkley, O’Neal and Kenny Smith. The fourth team was the winning squad from the championship game of Friday’s Rising Stars event.
Also on Kenny’s Young Stars with Herro were New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Memphis Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson Jr., Cavaliers center Evan Mobley and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams.
In the end, “Shaq’s OGs” team featuring Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillad, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and Celtics forward Jaylen Brown won this year’s All-Star Game tournament. Curry was named this year’s All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
The four teams in the NBA All-Star Game were competing for a prize pool of $1.8 million. Each player on the championship-winning team received $125,000, each player on the second-place team received $50,000 and each player on the third- and fourth-place teams received $25,000.
“It was my first experience, so it is what it is,” Herro said when asked about the event’s new format. “It was a short quick burst, I feel like. I still would like the East vs. West format better.”
With Herro making his All-Star Game debut this year, he became just the 11th Heat player in franchise history to be selected as an NBA All-Star (Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Anthony Mason, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Herro).
Herro is just the third Heat draft pick to make the NBA All-Star Game while with the Heat, joining a short list that also includes Wade and Adebayo.
Herro also became the fifth Heat player to win the Three-Point Contest in franchise history on Saturday, joining Glen Rice (1995), Jason Kapono (2007), Daequan Cook (2009) and James Jones (2011).
The Heat’s All-Star Weekend also included representation in Friday’s Rising Stars event (Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s team was eliminated in the semifinals) and Sunday’s G League Up Next Game (Josh Christopher’s team lost in the championship game of the four-team tournament).
With All-Star Weekend coming to an end on Sunday, Herro and the others who represented the Heat in San Francisco now have a few days off before the team reconvenes for practice on Thursday in Miami.
The Heat, which entered the All-Star break on a four-game losing skid and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference at 25-28, resumes its schedule on Friday against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
“I mean, these last 25-30 games are really important for everyone,” Herro said Sunday night before leaving San Francisco to return to Miami. “We dropped the last four heading into the break. We got a new group, in a sense, and we’re going to hit the ground running. It’s going to happen fast and everything is going to matter throughout this next month and a half.
“We love what we got and we’re excited for this next stretch after the break.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2025 at 10:51 PM.
