Heat's Tyler Herro reveals he was suited to be a Celtic on 2019 NBA draft night
No, Tyler Herro said, he does not still have the suit, at least not within reach.
Then again, it has been well over a year since Herro’s heard his name called in the most recent NBA draft.
As the league prepared for Wednesday’s pandemic-delayed selections, Herro reflected on both his stylings at the 2019 draft and what awaited this year’s picks.
Of the eye-popping purple-and-blue patterned suit he wore on his draft night in June 2019, the emerging Miami Heat guard said on the team’s Instagram Live account, “I think it’s at my parents’ house. It’s probably too small for me now. It was already tight.”
Herro was drafted out of Kentucky at No. 13 by the Heat, but revealed in his interview with Sun Sports television host Jason Jackson that he expected to go one selection later.
“We thought I was going to go to Boston at 14, and then Miami took me at 13,” Herro said. “So I got blessed to come here, instead of there.”
The Heat, behind solid efforts from Herro, went on to beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals last month.
Of his name being called at the 2019 draft, Herro said he knew in advance, “My agent said Coach (Pat) Riley texted him and then, from there, I heard from my agent and then I heard it from the commissioner. It was emotional, for sure. It was a big moment, but I was excited.”
Herro got to savor his moment at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Because of the pandemic, the NBA had to shift this year’s draft to ESPN’s Connecticut studios, with Adam Silver again announcing the first-round selections.
Of his advice to this year’s selections, Herro said, “Just enjoy the moment. It happens fast, and you only get one draft. So enjoy it while you can, because once the draft’s over, especially this year, there’s no summer league, so the season is going to start quick and it’s going to happen fast, so just enjoy the moment.”
The Heat have selected players out of Kentucky with their past two first-round picks, including center Bam Adebayo at No. 14 in 2017.
“A couple of my college teammates are in the draft,” Herro said of his fellow former Wildcats, “so I’m ready to see where they go.”
And, yes, he planned to watch.
“I think everyone likes to see somebody achieve their goals,” he said. “And for me, that was big time for me, and a dream come true.”
Of the whirlwind that followed in his rookie season, Herro said, “From quarantine to the bubble to the Finals, everything just happened fast. It was everything we wanted as a team. So we’re excited to get started again.”
Players are scheduled to regroup in South Florida at the end of the month, with training camp to open the first week of December.
“It was a long regular season, obviously, the longest season ever,” Herro said. “So it was tough, obviously, with the two games away from a championship. I just went home after the season, back to Milwaukee for a couple of days, to decompress and got to really just relax and get my mind off basketball.
“But the season is coming up quick, as everybody knows. So just back to work and be ready to get started again.”
Herro has been working out recently at Columbus High School in Miami, as well as at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“I’m just trying to add more and more, every chance I get,” he said. “We go into the Arena during the week. So just trying to get in as much work as I can and get ready for the season. I’m trying to take that next step.”
For now, he’s taking a new step with his nickname. Baby Goat, he said, is out, in favor of Boy Wonder.
“I prefer Boy Wonder,” he said. “Let’s do Boy Wonder.”
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