Getty Tyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat gestures after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 115-104 in Game Three of the 2019-2020 NBA Finals.
Tyler Herro has only been in South Beach for 68 games, but he’s already entrenched in the Miami Heat Culture. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has his own cereal brand, plus a rap song named after him — and now he’s gunning for fashion icon status.
Herro recently sat down with The Complex Sports Podcast to discuss his breakout rookie year and the crazy COVID-19 protocols hanging over 2021. The Kentucky product also revealed what it takes to stay in “Miami Heat shape” while dishing on playing alongside Jimmy Butler and sharing a court with James Harden. The fun 30-minute interview provided some interesting insight into what makes Herro tick.
For starters, Herro talked about the legendary (infamous?) conditioning test that every Heat player must pass before seeing the floor. Credit long-time strength and conditioning coach Bill Foran for the idea. Guys have to run 10 intense wind sprints in under a minute, according to Herro.
“It’s 10 sprints up and down — one, two, three, four, back and forth, all the way to 10, and then you have to do that 10 times in under a minute,” Herro said. “Heat Culture, you know, it’s real. The diet, the body fat — that’s something they take really seriously and every week we do a weigh and body fat test.”
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– Jack Harlow
– Miami living
– Covid sniffing dogs
– How much he loves Like Mike
– Cereal and much more
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And Herro’s new cereal brand — HerrO’s Fruit Hoops — will put his conditioning to the test. Launching on Feb. 2, it’s described as a “Multi-Colored, Fruit Flavored Frosted Rolls Cereal” and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the T. Herro Foundation.
“I don’t think any NBA player has his own cereal,” Herro said. “As long as you get your cardio in, you can sneak in a bowl here or there.”
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Music Videos, Getting to Know Jimmy Butler
The thought of a white player from Wisconsin getting a rap song named after him probably elicited laughter in most NBA locker rooms. Jack Harlow, a white rapper from Kentucky, didn’t care. He recorded the song and invited Herro out to Atlanta to make a music video for it.
The song is titled “Tyler Herro” but the Heat star revealed the original title was supposed to be “NSYNC.” Copyrights got in the way. Surprisingly, Herro hasn’t heard any trash talk over it on the court.
“Some of my teammates tell me they like the song,” Herro said, “but nobody really brought that up at all, surprisingly.”
Herro listed Harlow as one of his favorite rappers because “that’s my guy” but admitted that Drake is the GOAT. He still hasn’t been to a Rick Ross party but promised to follow Dwyane Wade’s lead as a “fashion icon” if ever invited.
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old joked about how Jimmy Butler likes to blast country music in the Heat locker room before games. His teammates aren’t always on board. It doesn’t matter, especially when Butler is controlling the DJ booth.
“If he wants it, then he gets it, you know how it goes,” Herro said. “He’ll be in the locker room playing country, loud — and there’s a couple of guys that like country, but before the game guys aren’t trying to listen to country but he doesn’t care.”
Dealing with COVID-19, Remembering the Bubble
The scavengers have been feasting on the Heat since the restart. They have been called a “fluke” team that “overachieved” in the bubble, with quite a few vultures taking aim at Herro who was the bubble’s unlikely poster boy. The Heat guard has heard the criticism and uses it as motivation. He’s averaging 17.0 points per game despite missing seven games due to injury.
“I wanted to be able to prove myself, that what I did in the bubble wasn’t a fluke,” Herro said. “So I’m still going through that process now just coming back from my injury, come back at it healthy, and show people what I’m made of.”
The Miami Heat may be without guard Tyler Herro for the foreseeable future after his roommate tested positive for COVID-19.
Herro threw a little shade at the league for rushing players back too soon. The Heat only had two months to bounce back from the sting of losing in the NBA Finals and start a new season.
“They kind of rushed us back with the COVID still going on,” Herro said. “And nobody really knew what to expect with the COVID and then we’re actually traveling to every city on planes and not in a bubble … there’s a lot postponed games this year and I think something new pops up for every team so we just gotta continue to stick with it and stay positive.”
Playing James Harden, First Trash Talk
Herro was trying to remember his “Welcome to the NBA” moment and came away talking about James Harden. The fact that he was on the same court as the 2018 NBA MVP was a bit surreal, not to mention he actually got mentioned in trade talks for Harden earlier this year.
“I love playing against James Harden, just being on the same floor with him,” Herro said. “I really think he’s one of the best scorers that I’ve ever seen.”
MCW pushes off Tyler Herro on offense…Herro hits a 3 on the other end of the court and gets in MCW’s face….MCW gets ejected later in the game for going after Herro
He also recalled the first time he got caught up in a trash-talking session. News flash: it was in a preseason game against Michael Carter-Williams. The two were jawing back and forth in what Herro described as a “verbal disagreement” and then the Heat rookie got ejected from the game.
“We were jawing back and forth, going at it, but we’re cool now,” Herro said. “It kind of blew up, it was a big deal.”
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‘Rushed Us Back’: Heat Guard Opens Up About NBA Bubble, Favorite Rapper