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After being a first-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Tyler Herro immediately made his presence felt in one of the largest markets the NBA has to offer. Herro quickly became a fan-favorite personality for the Miami Heat.
The Heat’s success was unmatched among Eastern Conference foes. Despite not being a top-three team in the conference at the end of the regular season, the Heat managed to make the NBA Finals.
Herro, as a rookie, was a big part of why Miami saw so much success.
Both Herro and Duncan Robinson made names for themselves in the NBA playoffs, especially Herro, who averaged 16 points per game, upping his play from an average of 13.5 points in the regular season.
That type of immediate dominance doesn’t always bode well for some relatively young players. Herro is just 21 and, with the nickname “Bucket” among other things, has created some concern over his identity and fit.
Miami Heat beat writers Ethan Skolnick and Ira Winderman noted on their “Inside the Paint” podcast, transcribed via Heat Nation, that the team has been “concerned” for Herro has his regarding his quick ascension into stardom.
“Ultimately, the team starts to get a certain level of concern. In this particular case, the team has been concerned now for months,” Skolnick said.
“He chose to become something outside the game, as is his right. With his breakfast cereal, and his Tyler Tuesdays, and his Chipotle Bowl and that’s all well and good. But you know what? Other players when they see a player doing that before they’ve truly reached it. I don’t know if I want to say there’s a jealousy… They sort of take a scant view of the guy and say, ’Wait a minute buddy. You haven’t done anything yet,” Winderman noted as well.
This all makes sense as well. The Heat are struggling. Teams like New York and Atlanta are ahead of them in the standings and have no good reason to have a better record than the Finals-making Heat.
Jimmy Butler hasn’t been happy about the team’s play, and while he didn’t call out Herro, as Winderman noted, there could be some jealousy in the locker room. Nonetheless, it’s tense in Miami Beach, and Herro’s ascension to being a celebrity could play a small part in it.