From game-winners to near triple-doubles, Tyler Herro continues building a strong case to represent the Miami Heat in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.

I know, I know: It’s been suggested all season as Boy Wonder has grown into Miami’s leading scorer – with or without Jimmy Butler in the lineup – but the layers behind Herro’s case get stronger by the day. Outings like Sunday’s 104-100 win against the Houston Rockets simply add to Herro growing from sparkplug scorer to a reliable, all-around playmaker for Miami.

By now, you’ve either seen or heard about the skirmish between Rockets forward Amen Thompson and Herro — Kelly Iko did a great job examining the layers behind the incident — but the latter took it all in stride because he can understand the frustration of opposing defenders trying to contain him.

Tyler Herro on the Rockets:

“I guess that’s what happens when someone is scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing. I’d get mad, too.”

😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/vxPfDRXKt1

— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) December 30, 2024

To Herro’s point, he’s made a routine of making defenders mad over his six-year career, during which he won 2021-22 Sixth Man of the Year, hit clutch shots in the NBA Finals and developed a reputation as one of the more gifted shooters across the league. This season, though, he’s taken his game to new heights and seems poised to earn a spot in the Eastern Conference’s lineup once the All-Star Game tips off Feb. 16 in San Francisco, Calif.

Let’s dig into the three reasons Herro’s All-Star case grows by the day:

Confident passer

Herro’s reputation understandably begins and ends with his scoring, but he’s been sandwiching great playmaking between shot attempts for some time. His knack for drawing in defenders before hitting them with timely crossovers is one of my favorite things in the league, honestly. And while it’s become routine for Heat fans, teammates and coaches to enjoy Herro’s growth in handling defensive pressure, his strides are also being recognized across the league.

“I think the really good players — and he’s a really good player — they get in the league, there’s a skill they have, that allows them to be impactful. His was his shooting,” Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mike Daigneault said of Herro on Dec. 20.

“And then, as the league kind of learns that and solves for that, that leads your development process. And then, you have to improve your off-the-dribble shooting. He was a guy who, a couple years ago, the whole thing was playing tight, so you made him play inside the line. And now, he’s driving the ball at a much higher rate. That’s what good players do — they bump up into hurdles and clear them with work and with intentionality. That’s what happens when you prove to be impactful, is the league figures it out and tries to stop it. That becomes your next hurdle to clear, and he’s done a great job of that. We have a lot of respect for the trajectory he’s on.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra credits Herro for growing into a trusted playmaker for Miami in recent years, especially as his knack for scoring has forced defenses to react to just about every move he makes. For example, in a win against the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 23, Herro was an assist shy of his second career triple-double while finishing with only one turnover. His own shooting was spotty in this game (17 points, 5-of-13 overall, 2-of-7 from deep), but it didn’t stop Brooklyn defenders from fearing he could get hot at a moment’s notice.

Here, he found rookie center Kel’el Ware for a timely lob after initially seeking a pull-up jumper. Though the first-year big is still seeking consistent playing time, he and Herro have shown great chemistry. Among Ware’s 45 shot attempts so far, 17 have come via assist by Herro. He is shooting 64.7 percent in such situations.

Improved shot diet

Speaking of pull-up jumpers, Herro’s team-high 235 points on such attempts (44.6 percent) rank 14th across the league entering Monday. His 39.6 percent mark on pull-up 3s is on pace for a career high. While I need not remind you making buckets in the pros is tough, Herro’s efficiency on pull-up triples has been on par with the likes of Anthony Edwards (40 percent), Jalen Brunson (39) and Donovan Mitchell (39.5) while besting even Trae Young (33.5) and James Harden (31.2).

Beyond recognizing one stat, though, Herro is simply processing the court better than ever, making him comfortable with any shot he can take for himself or create for others. Never recognized as an overly physical player, a key to his evolving efficiency has been his comfort with attacking the basket (career-high 13.3 drives per game on 56.1 percent shooting), which has helped him drastically cut down on long 2s as defenses worry about meeting him at the rim or missing a closeout on jumpers.

Such confusion has been what Herro has aimed for, as he reaps the benefits of modeling his shot profile after arguably the greatest shooter in the history of basketball.

“I feel like my body type and the way I play, it’s like Steph Curry,” Herro recently said. “I try to make my shot profile as identical to Steph as possible. Steph shoots a lot of 3s, obviously — the rest of them are to the rim, layups and free throws. That’s kind of what I’m trying to resemble, is literally what Steph’s doing.”

In the fourth quarter Saturday against the Hawks, Atlanta quickly lost Herro on a switch as Larry Nance Jr. retreated back to Bam Adebayo after the confusion, but that lapse is all Herro needed to sink the pull-up triple.

On Sunday, Herro sauced up Jabari Smith Jr. on the perimeter before settling into a stepback 3-pointer. Miami’s leading scorer is shooting a blistering 52.8 percent on stepbacks this season after nailing only 40 percent of such looks in his first five seasons, per NBA.com. I’d offer further context, but this bucket says plenty.

Filling in key gaps

Standing only 6-foot-5 and weighing only 195 pounds, Herro doesn’t lack confidence in attacking the rim or the glass. He’s averaging a career-high 5.7 boards for the league’s 17th-best rebounding team, so each one truly counts as Miami maximizes possessions any way it can.

Moreover, in his last 17 outings, dating back to a 123-118 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 24, Herro is grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game, second behind Bam Adebayo (10.3) over that span. On the season, he’s one of 18 players averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds and five dimes per game, and only Domantas Sabonis, Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo sport higher true shooting percentages than Herro (62.3) while producing so much across the board.

Even when accounting for Herro’s clutch-time heroics, he’s finding comfort in maximizing Heat possessions despite still needing to improve his efficiency when the game is on the line. In clutch situations this season, he shoots only 33.3 percent, but his team-high 45 points are tied with James Harden and Victor Wembanyama for eighth in the NBA. (Usual reminder: Clutch time is measured as a game’s final five minutes with the score within five points.)

I trust Herro’s efficiency with the game on the line to get better for two key reasons. First, he’s never been afraid of key moments, dating back to facing the LeBron James-led Lakers in the NBA Finals during his rookie season. His confidence gives him the gusto to attempt shots most players wouldn’t try. Second, if/when the dust settles from the Butler trade rumors, defenses will be forced to adjust to another player unafraid of big moments. (Butler has appeared in only nine of Miami’s 18 clutch-time games this season, but he’s scored 33 such points and is shooting 56 percent with the game on the line.)

Against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Herro enjoyed one of the biggest shots of his career, nailing his fourth career game-winning bucket in a game’s final five seconds. Among those four makes, three have come on the road. Whether Herro makes the East’s All-Star roster remains to be seen, but few people are surprised by the success he’s enjoying.

“Considering a lot of media and fans have dogged him in the past because of past performances, being injured, this is his moment right now,” Adebayo said of Herro earlier this month. “He’s having his moment.”

(Top photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)