Ira Winderman: Often overshadowed with Heat (and to be again), Herro deserves embrace upon return

Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Nov 15, 2026

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MIAMI — The reception should be emphatic Wednesday night when the Milwaukee Bucks take the court at Kaseya Center, because Tyler Herro deserves as much.

Part of the drive to two NBA Finals. NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2022. Second-team All-Rookie in 2020. A 2025 All-Star. Heat scoring leader in 2024-25. Sixth-fastest NBA player to 1,000 career 3-pointers.

With Pat Riley renowned for big-game hunting over the past three-plus decades, the Heat’s complementary components all too often have gone overlooked.

The faces of the Heat are the faces behind the jerseys that hang from the rafters at Kaseya Center, from Alonzo Mourning to Tim Hardaway to Shaquille O’Neal to Dwyane Wade to Chris Bosh and eventually to LeBron James and maybe even Jimmy Butler (with Udonis Haslem’s longevity also earning such a nod).

But this also is a franchise of those who kept the franchise afloat during the tough times, supported excellence during the best of times, players such as Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown, Eddie Jones, Goran Dragic, Shane Battier and Mike Miller.

Herro belongs in that pantheon, and therefore deserves a rousing ovation in his new colors.

There would not have been that ride to the 2020 NBA Finals without him, or even the intervening success.

And there would not be Giannis Antetokounmpo lining up for the Heat on Wednesday night without him, either, Herro as a contract and as a talent helping round out that offseason trade package.

And that’s the element that should not be overlooked, either.

Imagine showing up for work years on end with your employers telling you how respected you are and also trying to replace you with something perceived as better.

“We appreciate you, but appreciate the possibility of (Fill in the name: Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Bradley Beal, Antetokounmpo) even more.”

Trying staying grounded when the rumor mill keeps reminding you that you have one foot out the door.

Yes, the injuries got in the way.

But isn’t diving for a loose ball (at the start of the 2023 run to the NBA Finals) the Heat way?

Isn’t playing through injury at the risk of further exacerbating (as would prove the case) the Heat way?

Isn’t adapting to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s evolving offenses the Heat way?

Isn’t soldiering on in the void of an extension the expected Heat way?

Yes, plenty of snark with a sneer from Herro over the years (and arguably too much fixation with social media), but also colorful in an authentic way, not the constant striving for attention like Butler and his costumed choreography. Herro dressed his part because he actually dressed that way.

For years, and still true to this day, the Heat locker room largely is deserted during the pregame open media period, players opting for privacy elsewhere. Herro, by contrast, sat at his locker during those periods, candor often flowing.

And then consider Herro’s closing Heat act.

April 14, 2026.

Spectrum Center.

Play-in round opener vs. Charlotte Hornets.

Herro is subbed in with 26 seconds left in overtime and the Heat down 125-120.

The play-by-play from there:

23.5: Herro 23-foot turnaround fadeaway 3-point shot. Hornets 125-123.

8.7: LaMelo Ball three-shot foul foul, Herro three free throws, Heat 126-125.

If Ball doesn’t score on a driving layup to close the scoring with 4.8 seconds to play to give Charlotte the 127-126 victory, Herro’s six points in 14.8 seconds would have been the stuff of Heat legend.

Instead, his final moments in Heat colors.

From the start, there seemingly was a hunger for something better when it came to the perception of Herro. Yes, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant were taken ahead of him in the 2019 draft lottery, but Herro at the moment arguably has eclipsed the career arc of both.

And, yet, never fully embraced by a franchise that has bent over backwards for fellow University of Kentucky product Bam Adebayo, extensions in that case offered at the instant those windows opened.

Or even ever as appreciated as Heat alumnus-in-residence Goran Dragic, who to this day continues to enjoy ovations when shown on the Kaseya Center big screen.

But also consider …

Goran Dragic: 391 Heat career regular-season games, 16.2 points per game, 5.2 assists per game, 3.6 rebounds per game, on shooting splits of .457 from the field, .365 on 3-pointers, .786 from the line.

Tyler Herro: 394 Heat career regular-season games, 19.5 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, on shooting splits of .450 from the field, .382 on 3-pointers, .878 from the line.

And, now, even more irony, when on the night Herro makes his return, the Heat are planning their over-the-top “A Night in Vice City” promotion of the impending release of Grand Theft Auto VI, one replete with one-night-only uniforms and a one-night-only court design.

For seven seasons, it was as if Tyler Herro constantly was overshadowed as he delivered meaningful moments with polished panache.

That shouldn’t be the case Wednesday night.

He deserves more.

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