After what seemed like an incredibly long offseason, the Miami Heat are finally back in action, ready to take on the Milwaukee Bucks for their first game of the 2021-22 NBA season on Thursday night.
While fans are hyped to see what the newly restructured roster can do, the players are pumped to get back out there and compete. Heat guard Tyler Herro, who worked hard to put on 10 pounds of muscle over the summer, also welcomed a new fan during the offseason, a baby girl named Zya with girlfriend Katya Henry.
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Zya was born on September 14, but she’s already trying to fit in her daddy’s No. 14 jersey. Just hours before tipoff on Thursday, Herro shared a photo of his newborn child rocking a Miami Vice-style jersey on his Instagram stories, officially making Zya a member of Heat Nation.
@nolimitherro/InstagramTyler Herro shares a photo of his daughter Zya wearing his Miami Heat jersey.
Herro absolutely shined during the Heat’s preseason, shooting a team-high 22.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in five games. The 21-year-old guard shot 51% from the field and 44% on threes. No doubt Herro will look to keep that momentum as he enters his third year in the NBA.
Jimmy Butler Believe Herro Becoming a Father Will Further Push His Game
Tyler Herro with the long-distance dime to Jimmy Butler on ESPN 2 🎯
While the 6-foot-5 guard gets a lot of flack for his off-the-court habits, such as his bold fashion choices, magazine covers, and endorsement deals, teammate Jimmy Butler can confirm that the Kentucky alum is not slacking off when it comes to working on his game.
“We all know how talented T is,” Jimmy Butler said, as reported by Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman. “Half of his battle is in his own head.”
“Don’t nobody care about what anybody else is saying, ‘We love you for who you are. We want you to be as aggressive as you can, and come out there and do what you do.’ We support him in every single way… I think he’s got the most important people in his corner, damn sure all of his teammates. We want him to carry his momentum, his energy into the regular season.”
Heat’s head coach Erik Spoelstra also saw the type of effort Herro put in during the offseason. “I mentioned before… skill level, confidence, his teammates, especially the veteran players, have been pumping him with incredible confidence,” Spoelstra said of Herro. “Confidence is born out of a lot of sweat behind the scenes.”
“This is not something that’s just materialized,” Spoelstra continued. “This kid’s put in a lot of work, and it’s been weeks and months of improvement.”
Herro’s Ready to Take Things to Another Level
As for Herro’s goal this season, “Just take it up another level,” he said. “Just continue to come in here every single day with the right attitude and just feed life into the team and good things will happen.”
Heat star Bam Adebayo said of Herro, “He sees a lot of the doubt and a lot of the hate and he wants to prove people wrong. He’s going into the season with a bigger chip on his shoulder.”
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Tyler Herro’s Baby Girl Rocks Heat Jersey for Season Opener [PHOTO]