MIAMI – The moment finally arrived for Miami Heat star Tyler Herro that he is an All-Star as his name was called during Thursday's announcement where the reserves were revealed. As Herro's instant reaction to hearing the news went viral, he spoke after Friday's Heat practice to share his feelings and emotions regarding the milestone.

During the TNT broadcast where the pre-game show announced the reserves, Herro's name was called last in the Eastern Conference portion which was no doubt stressful for any fan watching. Herro said he expected it to come down to that and was “emotional” when hearing his name called.

“I mean, I figured it was gonna come down to one of the last spots,” Herro said. “I was tuned in, watching the regular pregame show like everyone else was. My name got called, it was definitely exciting, and emotional for sure. So really excited to be in this position.”

Tyler Herro on joining rare Heat company 

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) points to a teammate after shooting a three-point shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center.
Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Though Herro has received endorsements from Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, star Bam Adebayo, and the rest of the team, there was still some doubt he would be snubbed. The pool for Eastern Conference guards was packed as besides the starters of New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson and Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, the reserves in the same position were Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham, Cavaliers' Darius Garland, and Milwaukee Bucks' Damian Lillard.

Herro also joins some rare company. He is only the 11th player in the team's history to be selected as an All-Star with Adebayo (three times) and Jimmy Butler (twice) the only ones on the current roster to have at least one nod with the franchise. The University of Kentucky product would express his feelings towards that and reminisce on the time when he first stepped into the Kaseya Center.

“It means a lot, you know? I feel like, you know, I think back to the first moment I walked in the arena after I got drafted,” Herro said. “Did our press conference Pat [Riley] kind of gave the mic to Spo [Spoelstra] and kind of said he's gonna make me an All-Star. I feel like throughout the years, people thought it would come faster, sooner than this, but I think we know the time that we put in every year, every summer, finally paid off. A lot of different tribes and tribulations, back and forths with Spo, what I need to work on every single year, I always just came in and tried to get better every single day.”

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Heat's Tyler Herro on how the work finally “paid off” being an All-Star

There is no doubt that it was a long time coming for the 25-year-old as there was a change coming into this season as in the year prior, it was injury-filled, only playing in 41 games. It led to Heat president Pat Riley calling Herro “fragile a little bit” which gave drive to the star as he's currently in the midst of his best season in the NBA, only having missed one game.

He is currently leading the team with 24.1 points and 5.4 assists while recording 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from deep. Herro is also one of two players in the NBA to have at least averaging 24 points, five assists, five rebounds, shoot 45 percent or better from the field, and 40 percent from deep with the only other being Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

Miami's star is also third in the NBA in three-pointers made with 175, behind Minnesota Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards and Pistons' Malik Beasley. Herro would say to ClutchPoints that after the hard work has finally “paid off,” he sees the honor as a “stepping stone” in his career.

“I think it's just the next step honestly,” Herro said. “Like I said, I felt, you know, at some point I was going to be an All-Star, it was just about the work I continue to put in every day, the good days, the bad days, just continuing to do it every single day. Finally, you know, paid off, but I feel like it's just a stepping stone in my career, and this is the direction I want to be going in.”

Herro looks to continue his impressive season as the Heat (23-23) embark on a four-game road trip starting Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs.