Butler is ready to be a #HeatLifer
Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat were a match made in heaven before he even arrived in South Beach. In four seasons repping a Miami jersey, Butler has led the team to 2 NBA Finals and an Eastern Conference Finals.
More recently, he brought a Play-In 8th seed to the NBA Finals with upset after upset against the best of the East.
The Heat’s historic playoff run ended in 5 games against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
Butler is a perennial All-Star and made the All-NBA team last season.
He scored over 90(!) points combined in the final 2 games in the Milwaukee Bucks playoff series, where Miami ousted the number 1 overall seed in 5 games.
That included a 56 point explosion in game 4 inside the Kaseya Center, where Butler put the entire world on notice that he is indeed “him” and “that guy”.
With the off-season at a standstill for the Heat due to Damian Lillard’s trade request, Butler recently toured in China and was interviewed.
In that interview he had several standout quotes, including that he “doesn’t plan on playing for another NBA team after the Miami Heat.”
These quotes are everything and more that any fanbase would want out of their franchise player.
Heat Nation sees all the behind the scenes work this man puts in to still improve his game at 33 years old.
Jimmy Butler is a dog, an alpha on the court, especially in big games and moments. He came in 2nd place for the league’s first Clutch Player of the Year award this past season.
There should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that this man CAN help lead this team to its 4th franchise championship.
Everybody has seen exactly what Butler can do in a playoff stage with the right pieces around him.
He may currently be in a 2-3 year title window where he can be the leading man, or at least one of them, offensively.
The time is now. It is still yet to be seen if reinforcements are coming (Lillard) but even so this is a roster that clearly has the coaching, culture and formula to be able to pull off a championship win.
Butler has proved a lot during his career, but the one lone thing he needs on his resume is a title.
Only time will tell if that can truly happen, but with a guy like Butler on the roster, this Heat squad can contend for several more years to come.