MIAMI- It was a long-awaited moment for Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro as he received his first All-Star nod, which garnered the attention of his teammate Bam Adebayo. As Herro spoke after Friday's Heat practice about his emotions through it all, Adebayo took the time to shout out his friend and call out the naysayers.

There is no doubt that Herro has been the topic of conversation with many fans throughout the seasons in terms of him being involved in trade rumors and other discussions. The three-time All-Star in Adebayo would say to ClutchPoints that as he's “proud” of the 25-year-old, the honors come off the back of many critics along the way.

“Man, I'm truly proud of him, because there's been a lot of media that's thrown that man's name in the mud,” Adebayo said. “Y'all thrown his name in trade rumors. Y'all said he's not good enough, can't do this, can't do that, all the way down to somebody's wingspan. So you know, just looking at from that standpoint, and understanding how great Tyler can be, it's a testimony to him.

“How he's really worked on his body, how he's really prepared himself in moments like this,” Adebayo continued. “You know, going into a season, everybody has aspirations of being that guy, or the all-star, whatever the case may be. You know, for him to be able to only miss one game this far, you know, that just puts him in place on how hard he worked on his body.”

Heat's Erik Spoelstra on Tyler Herro being named an All-Star

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) reacts after scoring against the Orlando Magic during double overtime at Kaseya Center.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Herro's reaction to being announced as an All-Star was filmed as he's the 11th player in Miami's history to be selected as such with the team. He joins Adebayo and Jimmy Butler as the only players on the active roster to be chosen for the honors at least one time with the team.

Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had advocated Herro being an All-Star for the longest as he said Friday that “it's a testament” to the work the University of Kentucky product has put in.

“I was really excited about it for him, his family, the team was really excited. That was fun to see and be a part of that, everybody sees how much he puts into this game, and I think it's a testament to his work, but also just coming into the season with great clarity,” Spoelstra said. “He had a clear mind. Just really wanted to impact, and he was sure about everything that he was trying to do for the team.”

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“And then he got rewarded for really efficient play,” Spoelstra continued. “It was good to see and I told him that it's, I think, from my standpoint, obviously, because I'm a coach, but I think it's the ultimate sign of respect when the other coaches are voting you in because they have to game plan for you every night, and if they're thinking about it because you're a tough scout, a tough person to game plan. I think that's a great compliment.”

Heat's Duncan Robinson has witnessed Tyler Herro's development 

Part of the work Spoelstra mentioned was the star gaining muscle and bulking up after Heat president Pat Riley said Herro was “fragile a little bit” after playing only 42 games in an injury-filled season. Herro took it as a challenge as besides only missing one game so far, he leads the team this season by averaging 24.1 points and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 47.4 percent and 40.1 percent from deep.

Besides Adebayo and Spoelstra, another person who's been along with Herro on this journey is Heat guard Duncan Robinson who said to ClutchPoints Friday that it's a “special” moment for his long-time teammate.

“It's really cool honestly. You know, it's like we've been, we've been in this thing a little while now,” Robinson said. “I've watched him work so hard, off-season, in-season, I've watched him improve so much, I watched him grow, mature. You know, it's one of, not the few times, but it's one of the special times in my career, where I'm just so happy for somebody else. I don't wanna say that that doesn't happen often, but, I mean, like an accolade at this level, but like something that you've seen the inner workings of for a while now. You know you've seen him sacrifice for this, and for him to get it is cool.”

As Herro will celebrate during All-Star weekend, he will also look to continue his best season in the NBA thus far as the Heat (23-23) embark on a four-game road trip starting Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs.