Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler reflected on his time with the Miami Heat in a recent interview, saying that he and the team “didn’t win nothing” like they were supposed to during his tenure with the franchise.
Jimmy Butler on returning to MIA Tuesday
“I love that fanbase. They showed me a lot of love, I’m there to win now, I’m the opposing team”
“We was aight, we didn’t win nothing like we was supposed to. We made some cool runs, we had some fun, I think that’s all we did”
Heat vs… pic.twitter.com/PRARBq2OXV
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The Heat made the NBA Finals twice during Butler’s time with the team, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals in six games and the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals in five games.
In the 2022-23 season, Butler and the Heat entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference yet weren’t deterred, knocking off the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics on their way to the championship series.
While the Heat never were able to win a title with Butler on the roster, they did have a ton of playoff success. It seems that the six-time All-Star doesn’t feel all that great about Miami coming up short in the Finals during his time there.
This season, Butler was suspended by the Heat on multiple occasions before he was eventually traded to Golden State before the trade deadline. Miami received a package that included forward Andrew Wiggins in exchange for Butler, but the Warriors have been the team that has benefitted the most from the deal.
Golden State is 16-3 in the 19 games that Butler has played in with the franchise, and it currently holds the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Butler is averaging 17.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game since being traded to the Warriors. While he isn’t dominating scoring the ball, he’s fit in nicely alongside guard Stephen Curry in Golden State.
The Warriors are looking to secure a playoff spot and then make a run with their new-look core this season.
Meanwhile, the Heat have lost 10 games in a row and have slipped to the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. They are 1.5 games back of the Chicago Bulls in the standings after Chicago blew out the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
The Heat have a matchup with the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday before they take on Butler and the Warriors on Tuesday. That matchup will be Butler’s first game back in Miami since he was traded to Golden State.
