Jimmy arrives in Miami
In a shocking turn of events, Jimmy Butler was dealt to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade during the summer in a move that seemed completely out of left field. In the immediate aftermath, questions swirled as fans tried to wrap their heads around the trade. Why would Jimmy leave such a great situation? Why would the 76ers let him leave? What possibly could have been the problem this time?
Eventually, these questions would be answered. On a podcast hosted by his former 76ers teammate J.J Reddick, Jimmy Butler got into the nitty gritty. According to Butler, the primary reasons for his departure included a lack of direction and work ethic from the coaching staff, and rumours of some staff members asking if they could “control Jimmy.”
There were also reports that he hadn’t been offered a max deal, though this was disputed. Ultimately these issues seem to be what led to Butler departing Philadelphia for Miami. While some were sympathetic to Jimmy, many critics reared their heads once more, labeling the man a hypocrite for claiming he ‘just wanted to win’ in the past, only to leave a championship-contending team for one that was nowhere near that level in the Miami Heat.
But leave it to Jimmy Butler to make detractors eat their words.
During the 2019-20 season, the world was rocked by a global pandemic. In the midst of an unprecedented world event, the NBA briefly halted the regular season, with some suggesting that basketball would not resume until the pandemic had been handled. After some time, the NBA announced that the NBA playoffs would be held inside the ‘NBA Bubble’ in Florida’s Walt Disney World.
In the bubble, the Philadelphia 76ers would be swept in embarrassing fashion in the first round, whereas the Miami Heat would go on to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Throughout the playoffs, Jimmy Butler would go on a tear, putting up historic numbers in the process.
While the Miami Heat would ultimately lose in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers, Jimmy Butler and the Heat exceeded all expectations of them.
The following season would be considerably less successful for Butler and the Heat, as they would lose in the first round to the eventual champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. Detractors were quick to label the ‘bubble run’ by the Heat as a fluke after this defeat. But then the following season, the Heat ended the regular season with the best record in the conference.
They would go on to reach the Eastern Conference finals, beating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, and in one of the most poetic series I have ever watched, beating the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. They would eventually come up short against the Boston Celtics, losing in Game 7. An impressive season and a deep playoff push, but this seemed to be the ceiling for the Heat.
A lower-end dark horse in a conference led by ‘real’ championship contenders including the Celtics and Bucks. It seemed that as long as these teams were healthy, Miami would never reach the Finals barring anything unforeseen.
But at this point, Jimmy Butler may as well be called ‘Mr. Unforeseen”
Which brings us to this year. And what a year it was, both for the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler. In the lead-up to the playoffs, the Heat would lose Tyler Herro, a key piece of the team that provided the much-needed floor-spacing offense. With few constants to rely on other than Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the team wasn’t expected to even make the playoffs.
But then they did.
Squeaking in as a play-in team, the Miami Heat were matched up in the first round against the 1-seed Milwaukee Bucks. For those who remembered history, the last time these two teams had matched up in the first round, the Bucks had swept the Heat. In all honesty, you wouldn’t have been foolish for expecting a repeat of history. No one thought the Miami Heat had a chance to beat the Bucks.
But then they did.
In a shocking upset, the Miami Heat beat the Bucks in the first round in five games. Throughout the series Jimmy Butler played on an absurd level, averaging close to forty points a night and at one point dropping an otherwordly 56 points on the Bucks. Which brought them up against the New York Knicks in the second round, who had just beaten the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This series was much more even on paper, and the series reflected that. After six games that all were tooth-and-nail affairs, the Miami Heat would advance to the conference finals once more where they’d run into a familiar foe: the Boston Celtics. And this is where many predicted the Cinderella story would end.
Miami Butler may have had ‘Playoff Jimmy’ on their side, and the rest of the team was playing well too. But let’s not mince words: practically no one had the Heat pegged to advance to the Finals. Many expected history to repeat itself, with the Celtics predicted to beat the Heat for the second year in a row and advance to the NBA Finals once more.
No one thought the Heat would win.
But then they did.
In a dramatic seven-game series, the Miami Heat would ultimately avenge their defeat the year prior and send the Celtics home en route to the NBA Finals. But the story of this series wasn’t just Jimmy Butler, who averaged nearly 25 points and three steals a game. It wasn’t just Bam Adebayo averaging close to a double-double with points and rebounds.
In this series, it was the unsung heroes like Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent that would get their much-deserved flowers. These undrafted players who were seen as not much more than sharpshooting roleplayers made the difference in this series.
It was an improbable upset by the most unlikely players on a team that many assumed wouldn’t even make it into the playoffs. And while the Cinderella story would ultimately end in defeat, this Miami Heat team will be remembered forever. Led by a man with a nickname that will live on in history.
“Himmy Butler.”
The story of Jimmy Butler is one of the greatest to ever be told.
It is the story of a once-homeless youth that made it to the NBA. It’s the story of a prospect that no one thought would become anything more than just another name in the reserves section of a roster. It’s the story of a young bull, hungry for more that was sold like livestock ripe for slaughter.
It’s the story of an impatient wolf who demanded more from his pack, and when he didn’t receive that he left to find a new home. It’s the story of an eagle that soared through the skies in the city of brotherly love and was embraced by the city, yet left after he heard that the higher-ups wanted to cage him.
It’s the story of a flame that burned both bright and hot finally finding its hearth and lighting up an entire city as he led the city year after year. From prospect to veteran, from villain to hero, from ‘locker room cancer’ to ‘Himmy Butler,’ the Jimmy Butler saga has engrossed fans no matter where he’s played, and will no doubt continue to do so. It has been a pleasure to watch the story be told, and I cannot wait for the next chapter to begin this fall.