Despite the Miami Heat landing in the Play-In Tournament for the third consecutive season, the organization should be thrilled about the breakout campaign Tyler Herro had.

He received his first All-Star nod while averaging career highs in points, assists, field goal percentage, and steals. This impressive year earned Herro a spot on a controversial ranking crafted by NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce.

Pierce shared on FOX Sports’ Speak a list of his top five current white American NBA players, which was met with much frustration from social media.

“I’ve got a top five of all white American players right now in the league,” Pierce began. “So the white American players [are] Tyler Herro, Austin Reaves, Chet Holmgren, Peyton Pritchard, Alex Caruso. That team ain’t beating nobody. It’s way different if you saying Luka, Joker.”

One fan replied to the post, writing, “But like why are we even doing this?”

Another responded, “Such an odd topic for a mainstream sports station.”

Pierce, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008, is no stranger to unexpected and controversial remarks. It seemingly feels as though once a month the 10-time All-Star is making headlines for a comment no one saw coming.

This is simply the latest example, and as usual, the public is upset.

MORE MIAMI HEAT NEWS

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Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on X @AnthonyPasci.