Tyler Herro named finalist for NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award

Of the six major postseason awards in the NBA, this one should be the easiest to call.

On Sunday afternoon, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro was nominated as one of three finalists to receive the 2022 Sixth Man of the Year award. The former Kentucky Wildcat joins Cam Johnson of the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the top three options.

Herro, 22, played in 66 regular-season games for Miami in 2021-22, coming off the bench in 56 of them. He averaged 20.7 points per game, second-most on the Heat, doing so on a shooting split of 44.7/39.9/86.8. He also contributed 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists while playing 32.6 minutes per outing.

He is one of just four players in NBA history to average at least 20 points coming off the bench, joining Eddie Johnson (1988), Ricky Pierce (1989), and Lou Williams (2017 and 2018). All three of them were named the Sixth Man of the Year in those seasons.

A look at the 2021-22 #KiaSixth finalists:

Tyler Herro
Cam Johnson
Kevin Love#NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/tfAFeB2FaK

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2022

Last month, Herro was asked by ESPN‘s Malika Andrews if he is deserving of being named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.

“That’s for you guys to decide, but I believe so,” Herro said in an interview on ESPN’s NBA Today. “There’s a bunch of great bench players, but at this point I feel like I’ve done my part. I’m on the best team, and I should be Sixth Man of the Year.”

If Herro were to receive the honor, he would become the first former Kentucky Wildcat to take home the award in its 39-year existence. As of April 12, he was the clear betting favorite to make that happen.

2021-22 NBA Awards Finalists

Not only did the NBA announce the finalists for the Sixth Man of the Year award, but they also did so with all six major postseason recognitions. Finalists for Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Coach of the Year were also unveiled.

Herro is the only one-time ‘Cat named as a finalist, but I can all but guarantee the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo is either the fourth or fifth candidate for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Had he played more than just 56 games, he’s likely among the top three finalists. Meanwhile, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns received some late-season MVP buzz, but not nearly enough to overtake the trio that deservedly made the cut. You could even make a case for Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers as the Most Improved Player, but that award is likely to go to former Murray State point guard Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Below are the finalists for each award in the order that they were announced by the NBA.

Most Improved Player
Giannis Antetokotunmpo (MIL)
Joel Embiid (PHI)
Nikola Jokic (DEN)

Rookie of the Year
Scottie Barnes (TOR)
Cade Cunningham (DET)
Evan Mobley (CLE)

Sixth Man of the Year
Tyler Herro (MIA)
Cam Johnson (PHX)
Kevin Love (CLE)

Defensive Player of the Year
Mikal Bridges (PHX)
Rudy Gobert (UTA)
Marcus Smart (BOS)

Most Improved Player
Darius Garland (CLE)
Ja Morant (MEM)
Dejounte Murray (SAS)

Coach of the Year
Taylor Jenkins (MEM)
Erik Spoelstra (MIA)
Monty Williams (PHX)