The Miami Heat might have lost the NBA Finals to the Denver Nuggets - but Jimmy Butler will be back for more.
The Heat talisman inspired his team on an unlikely journey from the Play-In Tournament to the nearly winning a championship, creating some unforgettable memories along the way. Butler, 33, has emerged as one of the NBA's top players during his time in Miami since being traded from the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019.
And even before the NBA Finals started, Butler declared he plans to retire as a Heat player. "It’ll be the last jersey that I wear," Butler declared when speaking to ESPN.
As a result, Miami Heat fans can look forward to their main man being back to lead them on another quest for a championship having gone extremely close the last two years. They lost the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 before coming unstuck against the Nuggets in the Finals this time around.
In the immediate aftermath of their painful defeat, Butler insisted it is not the end as he maintains his belief of winning a championship in Miami.
"I've had some helluva teammates come through here and compete with me and give us the opportunity to win a championship," Butler said, "which I still believe, with everything in me, that we will do as a team here."
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Butler's love affair with Miami did take some time to develop. Having been drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2011, he previously admitted to being conditioned to hate the Heat.
"When I’m coming into the league, the Heat used to beat the Bulls all the time when they had the Big 3, the Heatles, whatever you want to call them," Butler said previously. "So me getting drafted to the Bulls, we can’t like the Miami Heat.
"You can’t like D-Wade even though you went to the same school. Then you fast forward and I’m playing with D-Wade with the Bulls, I’m like, ‘This guy is not a bad guy.’ It was just [Tom Thibodeau] that kept hitting me upside my head. And now, full circle, it’ll be the last jersey that I wear."
