The NBA announced today that Miami HEAT guard Tyler Herro has been named the 2021-22 NBA Kia Sixth Man of the Year. He is the first player in franchise history to earn Sixth Man of the Year honors.
Herro received 488 total points (96 first-place votes) from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love finished in second place with 214 points (three first-place votes). Phoenix Suns forward Cam Johnson finished in third place with 128 points (one first-place vote).
Herro appeared in 66 games this season and averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 32.6 minutes while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 39.9 percent from three-point range and 86.8 percent from the foul line, scoring a team-best 1,367 points while his 86.8 percent from the line was the fourth-highest percentage for a single-season in team history. He averaged 20.8 points off the bench, the highest by a reserve in the NBA this season and his 1,162 bench points were the most for a single-season by any reserve in HEAT franchise history. He has now totaled 2,348 career points off the bench, already the most by any reserve in team history. Herro recorded eight 30-point games off the bench, tying for the third-most by a non-starter for a single-season in NBA history and his 20 25-point games tied for the fourth-most ever (since starts were tracked in 1970-71). He recorded 32 20-point games this season, shattering Miami’s previous single-season record of 15 and has now totaled 51 career 20-point games off the bench, more than doubling the HEAT’s previous record of 24. He totaled a franchise-leading nine 30-point games off the bench this season, becoming the only player in HEAT history to record multiple 30-point games as a reserve and his nine are more than all other 30-point games in team history combined (five).
Herro scored at least 20 points off the bench in seven-straight games from February 25 – March 7, the longest 20-point streak by a reserve in franchise history and scored at least 25 points in three consecutive games from March 12 – March 18, the longest such streak by a reserve in team history. He led a HEAT bench that outscored the opponents bench in 10-straight games from February 28 – March 18, tying the fourth-longest such streak in team history. Herro scored the 2,000th point of his career on December 4 at Milwaukee, tying the second fastest and the second youngest to the mark in team history. He scored a career-high 35 points, all off the bench, on April 5 vs. Charlotte, tying for the most by a reserve in team history. He posted a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double off the bench on October 23 at Indiana, becoming the first HEAT reserve to ever score at least 30 points and grab at least 10 rebounds in a single game. Herro scored 27 points off the bench in the season opener on October 21 vs. Milwaukee, the most ever by a HEAT reserve for a season opener and tied the sixth-most ever by a reserve for a season opener in NBA history. Additionally, he connected on 175 three-point field goals this season, joining Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, Kyle Lowry and Gabe Vincent to mark just the second time in HEAT history at least five different players made at least 100 treys in a single season.