Tyler Herro is being compared to Will Smith for slapping Trae Young during the 2022 NBA playoffs. Fans will remember that the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks faced off in the first round of the Eastern Conference. The defense played by the Heat on Young led to them taking this series with ease.
People will also know about the recent infamous incident involving Will Smith. During the Oscars ceremony, he slapped the presenter Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada. Coming back to basketball, there was a certain play during the series between the Heat and the Hawks that fans are comparing to what Will Smith did.
Trae Young didn’t retaliate when Tyler Herro hit him in the face
The video of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock gained a tremendous amount of attention and circulation on social media. Chris Rock did absolutely nothing after Will walked up to him on the podium and hit him hard across his face.
When the Hawks and Heat were playing, Trae stole the ball and drove fast to the rim. Herro, who was chasing him had no choice but to foul. However, he did so in quite a brash manner. Nonetheless, Young completed the shot and scored, looking agitated at Tyler for this play.
NBA fans seem to think this play is very Will Smith-like, “Herro slapped tf outta trae. Will Smith nods in approval while playing welcome to Miami.”
(Credit: YouTube)
Some also think this play was intentional, “Nah man I swear Herro meant to do that. Just look at the replay.”
There is really no defending Tyler in this play. As Trae Young drove to the rim and Herro jumped, he skillfully shifted the ball to a side where Herro’s hand wasn’t near. Nonetheless, Tyler still swiped down where the ball was clearly nowhere near and hit Trae in the face.
Trae Young got SLAPPED by Tyler Herro HARD…Herro got a heavy hand!! #HEATCulture #Hawsk #Herro #Young pic.twitter.com/6StqFFh7TL
— Y0SB3 (@yosbel_perez) April 17, 2022
In any case, this play is just one of many. However, all of this is a part of basketball and should be accepted. The amusing thing is that Herro was probably penalized more for his actions in the game, compared to Will Smith who did so in a very public setting.