Miami’s Tyler Herro is quietly running away with the Sixth Man of the Year — and it isn’t even close.
He’s not only leading all reserves in scoring (21 PPG) by more than five points, but he’s the Heat’s top scorer from the bench, as displayed in his 29-point outburst in Tuesday’s win over Detroit.
The 1-seed Heat have also somewhat flown under the radar — unless Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo supply the highlights. The 2019 No. 13 pick is clearly driving Miami this season.
- The Heat are 25-9 when Herro scores at least 20 points; 37-20 with him on the floor.
- In the past 11 games, the Heat are +88 when Herro is on the floor.
- He’s averaging more points than famous Sixth Men such as Jamal Crawford and Manu Ginobili ever did in their careers.
Herro is the seventh-highest-paid player on the Heat this season ($4M). Miami, which already has $133 million on the books next season, can wait until 2023 to offer him a rookie max reportedly worth $184 million over five years.
When he inevitably wins the Sixth Man of the Year (-20000*), the 22-year-old will be the second-youngest to ever win the award (Ben Gordon, 21, 2004-05).
And if he keeps coming off the bench in subsequent seasons, he could conceivably tie or pass Crawford and Lou Williams, who each hold a record three Sixth Man awards.
