Now that they’re no longer teammates, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have quickly leaned into being foes. On Friday, Adebayo reportedly struck Herro in the face, leaving a mark just below his eye.
Even though they seemed to get along great as teammates on the Miami Heat, this situation may have been boiling over for the past seven seasons that the All-Star duo were paired together in South Beach. While the Heat were willing to include Herro as part of a bigger package to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Giannis Antetokounmpo, one wonders if Miami has been trying to get him out of their locker room for a while.
Tyler Herro’s Toxic Trait Comes to Light After Trade
The Heat clearly had no qualms about trading Herro, despite him being just 26 years old. Yet, they may have been hoping a team like the Bucks would have interest in the Wisconsin native, knowing there was some inner turmoil within the locker room in Miami.
Following the Herro-Adebayo incident, Yahoo Sports’ Kelly Iko peeled back the curtain on the star scorer. According to players and coaches who have competed against Herro over the years, he’s described as a “cocky” player who’s always trying to get under his opponent’s skin.
“According to players and coaches who have competed against the 26-year-old Herro, he’s been described as cocky and someone who consistently attempts to rile up opposing players by talking trash and insinuating he’ll fight,” Iko wrote. ‘Same boring tough-guy [expletive],’ said one individual.”
It’s not all that uncommon for players to try riling up opponents. The question is whether Herro carried that attitude into an altercation with Adebayo too. If so, it’s not hard to see how tensions could flare.
Who knows, perhaps Herro had long been pining for more praise. Or even the chance to score even more buckets rather than Adebayo going off for 83 points in a single game.
The good news is that now Herro really will get the opportunity he may have been seeking, the chance to be the top option in an offense. It even gets to happen in his home state.
But of course, like everything, it comes at a cost. In this case, it means playing for a Bucks team that may not currently have what it takes to compete for a playoff spot. Considering his Heat reached the playoffs in six of his seven NBA seasons (all but in 2026), that could be a tough adjustment for Herro.
