Nunn, Herro picked to play in Rising Stars Challenge game
The Miami Heat didn’t have a single top-10 pick in the most-recent NBA draft and still it has two players headed to Chicago for the Rising Stars Challenge on Valentine’s Day.
Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro, two of the top rookies in the NBA this season, will take part in the annual event at NBA All-Star Weekend next month. The NBA announced both were selected for the game Friday from assistant coaches across the league. They’re the first Heat players to be selected for the game since Norris Cole in 2012, and the first pair of Miami teammates in the game since Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem in 2005.
Coach Erik Spoelstra gathered his team before practice Friday to tell everyone Herro and Nunn were selected for the game.
“It was a great accomplishment,” Herro said. “It was good, but I still have a lot of work to do. But I’m definitely excited to get down to Chicago.”
The Rising Stars Challenge showcases the top rookies and second-year players in the league two days ahead of the NBA All-Star Game. Both Herro and Nunn will play for Team USA in the game at the United Center against Team World. Each team consists of 10 players and there does not necessarily need to be an equal amount of rookies and second-year players in the event.
Duncan Robinson, however, was not invited to participate in the game. The second-year swingman has started 42 games for the
Heat (32-15) this season and enters Saturday’s game against the Orlando Magic shooting 43.8 percent on 7.7 three-point attempts per game.
Robinson still could make it to All-Star Weekend, though, as he should be a top candidate for the ThreePoint Contest. No participants have been announced yet for the shooters showcase.
Nunn’s selection was a no-brainer. The 24-year-old guard from Chicago went undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft and spent almost the entire season in the NBA G League.
Miami signed him ahead of its season finale, but didn’t play him, meaning he is still considered a rookie this year. Nunn has turned into an unlikely Rookie of the Year contender, starting every game he has been healthy for while averaging 16.2 points per game — the second-most on the team behind only All-Star wing Jimmy Butler.
“The journey’s been long, but it’s just beginning and it’s a great first step in my story,” Nunn said.
Nunn had hundreds of family members and friends in attendance when the Heat beat the Bulls in the United Center earlier this season. He’s not sure what the ticket allotment will be like for this game, but he’s excited to take this latest step in front of family again.
“I’ll let my family deal with it — my pops pretty much,” Nunn said. “He’ll distribute all the tickets and stuff to family and friends.”
Nunn, however, is currently dealing with left Achilles’ soreness, which has caused him to miss three straight games.
While the injury is not believed to be a long-term concern. He practiced and is traveling to Orlando on Friday, and said he “should be able to go” against the Magic (21-27) at 7 p.m. at the Amway Center.
Herro’s rookie season has been more up-and-down than Nunn’s, but he appears to be a long-term offensive centerpiece for Miami.
The No. 13 pick in the
2019 NBA draft, Herro began his career with an impressive preseason to emerge as a dark-horse Rookie of the Year contender.
The 20-year-old wing has started six games this season, averaging 13.1 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from threepoint range in 28.1 minutes.
With Nunn and Herro headed to Illinois, Miami has four players set to take part in various All-Star events. Butler and post player Bam Adebayo were both named to the All-Star Game on Thursday after being voted in as reserves by coaches, and Adebayo is slated to compete in the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Challenge. Derrick Jones Jr. will also reportedly compete in the Slam Dunk Contest, although the NBA has yet to officially announce the forward’s participation.
“It just shows that winning can produce a lot of good things individually for players, but the most important thing is winning. If we weren’t winning, we wouldn’t have had this type of participation during the weekend,” Spoelstra said. “It feels great all across the board. Hopefully we can get one more guy there in the Three-Point Shootout.”
David Wilson: 305-376-3406, @DBWilson2