National Basketball Association

Tyler Herro sizzling for the Heat again after offseason transformation

Updated Nov. 24, 2021 4:23 p.m. ET

By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

Tyler Herro knew his stock had fallen dramatically.

After skyrocketing into the national consciousness with a 37-point performance for the Miami Heat during the Eastern Conference finals as a rookie in 2020, his expectations were through the roof.

But last season, his meteoric rise plateaued amid injuries, inconsistency and too many mediocre outings. Some questioned whether his career had stagnated and he wasn't the player he was once projected to become.

As a rookie, Tyler Herro's performance against Boston in the Eastern Conference finals was a huge reason Miami reached the 2020 NBA Finals. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

At a recent shootaround, Herro took a moment to reflect on how that affected him.

"Fuel to the fire," he told FOX Sports, flashing a smile.

The 21-year-old devoted himself this past offseason to changing that storyline.

He knew he could become an impact player. He just needed time to work on his game — a luxury he wasn't afforded with a 71-day offseason ahead of his second season in the league.

This summer, Herro finally had time to hone his craft.

The guard worked out three times a day. He gained 10 pounds of muscle. He focused on becoming quicker, smarter and more efficient.

So far this season, Herro has transformed into an early contender for the Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards, averaging 22.1 points on 46.5% shooting off the bench, a steep uptick from the 15.1 points on 43.9% shooting he averaged last season. Behind Jimmy Butler, he's the second-leading scorer on the Heat, who are tied for second in the East with a 12-6 record.

"I think a lot of people are like, 'Hey, what did you do? What adjustments did you make?'" said Drew Hanlen, Herro's trainer. "Well, he really just said, 'F--- last season' and just moved forward with a clear head. I think a lot of people don't have the mental toughness."

Herro spent hours perfecting his shot after a disappointing season in 2020-21. (Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)

Herro started working with Hanlen at the end of last season, after the trainer made him a video of everything that was wrong with his shot. He was releasing the ball on his way down instead of up, he wasn't following through often enough, and he had too narrow of a base when he elevated.

Those things clicked for Herro — and he wanted more film.

Over the summer, they watched every made field goal by Bradley Beal, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard and Trae Young so Herro could study how they move and position themselves while shooting. Herro then tried to implement the things he liked from their games into his own repertoire.

Herro is a perfectionist. He insisted on doing each move he was trying to adopt over and over again until it became rote. There were times when he'd do the same thing 1,500 times in a row.

"Some days, we'd do the same drill for one-and-a-half, two hours and never moved on because he didn't perfect it in the manner that he thought was acceptable," Hanlen said. "It would be, 'One more rep, one more rep, one more rep.' That's something that stands out."

They also spent a lot of time working on Herro's fast-twitch muscles. Herro would stand in a lunge position and focus on moving specific parts of his body as fast as he could, such as his shoulders, calves and hips. Once he perfected those micro-skills, he became more explosive.

"I feel stronger, for sure," Herro said of his body after all the offseason workouts. "I don't feel slower, though." (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)

What impressed Hanlen the most was Herro's attitude.

Before Hanlen would train Herro at noon in Los Angeles, he'd work out Beal at 10 a.m. Herro asked if he could observe those sessions so he could study the three-time All-Star for the Washington Wizards.

"To me, that was really cool just because he put the ego aside," Hanlen said. "I think there's a lot of people that would not have the humility to show up and watch one of his peers work out. But he said, 'You know what? He is a polished version of what I want to become, so might as well steal as much as I can from him.'"

Meanwhile, Herro also worked with Heat strength and conditioning coach Eric Foran, as well as a nutritionist, to get stronger in between being a part of the USA Men's Select Team. The goal was for him to put on more body mass so that his shot wouldn't be thrown off by defenders' bumps.

Herro said he was eating five meals a day to bulk up, but he also wanted to maintain his agility, which was a delicate balance. He thinks his coaches found the perfect equilibrium.

"I feel stronger, for sure," Herro said. "I don't feel slower, though. I feel faster. We wanted to keep my speed and my quickness while adding muscle so I'm able to move while adding strength."

At the beginning of the summer, Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn acknowledged that it didn't seem realistic that Herro would be able to lift 100-pound dumbbells on the dumbbell bench. But Herro reached that goal within a few months.

Quinn joked that the benefits extended beyond Herro's game.

"He would wear his tank tops a little bit more by the end of the summer," Quinn said with a laugh.

Quinn has worked closely with Herro the past three seasons after the Heat selected him out of Kentucky as the 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He has watched Herro mature from a player who was initially resistant to coming off the bench into one who is embracing his role as a reserve — while constantly striving for more. Much more.

Herro has made it clear that his goals are sky-high.

In a recent podcast, he made waves by saying he thought he should be in "the same conversation" as "the young guys coming up in the league who can be All-Stars [and] superstars one day — Luka [Doncic], Trae, Ja [Morant]."

Herro isn't shy when it comes to comparing his game to that of other young superstars such as Luka Doncic. (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

But while some found that comment absurdly bold, Quinn said that mindset is what makes Herro special.

"I just love that he has those type of aspirations," Quinn said. "I don't see why he wouldn't think that way. I think his swagger really comes from his hard work. He puts in the time, he believes in himself, and he has been at this a lot as a young player — especially coming to our organization, his rookie year being on a team that went to the Finals. We're asking him to do things daily to improve not only as an individual player but as a team player."

It has all come together this season. Herro opened the season by scoring the most points through seven games of any reserve in NBA history with 157, eclipsing Mavericks guard Jason Terry's record of 156 in 2007.

He has shown flashes of brilliance with his quick release, bursts of speed and silky ways of opening himself up off the dribble. And his game has been elevated alongside Kyle Lowry, one of the top playmakers in the league, whom the Heat acquired this offseason in free agency.

Playing in the same backcourt as Kyle Lowry has helped raise Herro's game. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

"It's my job to keep his confidence high," Lowry said. "I've been around a lot of young guys with potential like his, and for me, it's easy to just keep positivity in his game and keep positivity in his mind."

For Herro, having others believe in him has made a world of difference, especially at a time when the outside negativity seemed deafening.

After his disappointing season last year, Herro was admittedly dejected. But a conversation with Hanlen over the summer helped reframe things in his mind.

"My first question to him was, 'Would your 10-year-old self be proud of where you're at right now?'" Hanlen recalled. "He just started smiling. I said, ‘Dude, your 10-year-old self would have a Tyler Herro jersey and be the biggest fan of Tyler Herro.’"

Herro knew it was true.

And he has since set out to make that boy even prouder.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.