Just like with most people, Jimmy Butler’s mood depends on the circumstances.
He shows his competitiveness when he plays. He displays his fiery side when an opponent talks trash or plays physical with him. He reveals his laid-back nature when he listens to music, consumes adult beverages or enjoys games during his free time. He demonstrates his joy any time he wins.
Unlike with most people, though, Butler’s inner confidence stays strong through any circumstance. He grinds through both break-out performances and slumps. He fights through injuries both big and small. And he remains both encouraging and constructive with teammates through the season’s up-and-downs.
All of which partly explains why the Miami Heat will face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals beginning with Game 1 on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) as only the second eighth seed in league history to advance this far. Butler’s performances and his uncompromising convictions have helped the Heat achieve the seemingly improbable.
“There’s no way to quantify the confidence that he can instill in everybody,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “Jimmy has never had to apologize. I don’t want him ever to apologize for who he is and how he approaches competition.”
How Jimmy Butler approached competition has helped the Heat reach their second NBA Finals in four seasons. Technically, Butler has ranked seventh among players in postseason scoring (28.5 points per game). Behind Nikola Jokic’s NBA-record setting eight triple doubles, however, Butler has arguably cemented the best postseason so far.
He compiled one 50-point plus performance, one 40-point plus performance and three 30-point plus performances. He set the tone in Games 1 of the first round against Milwaukee (35 points on 15-for-27 shooting, 11 assists, three steals), the second round against New York (25 points on 8-for-16 shooting, 11 assists, four assists, two steals) and the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston (35 points on 12-for-25 shooting, seven assists, six steals).
Jimmy Butler says, ‘I’m playing at an incredible level’
Playoff performances often depend on how well a player can navigate physicality and pressure. Jimmy Butler has mastered both challenges. Through suffocating defenses, Butler has stayed aggressive enough to fare third among playoff players in most free-throw attempts per game (9.3). Through pressure-packed moments, Butler has ranked fourth among players in most fourth-quarter points per game (7.7). No wonder Butler won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award.
“I’m playing at an incredible level because they are allowing me to do so,” Butler told reporters. “They are not putting a limit on my game. They are trusting me with the ball, on the defensive end. I think that’s what any basketball player wants. That’s what anybody wants out of life is just to be wanted, be appreciated and just let you go out there and rock.”
Butler had much different experiences during his stops in Chicago (2011-17), Minnesota (2017-18) and Philadelphia (2018-19). He jived well with coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota because of his obsession with the craft. Butler didn’t jive so well with some of those team’s players, however, because they didn’t match his work habits and intensity.
Once Butler arrived in Miami in 2019, though, he joined an organization that shares his values.
“It’s intense. It’s not for everybody, and we’re not for everybody,” Spoelstra told reporters. “That’s why we think it’s like an incredible marriage. We never judge him on that. He doesn’t judge us for how crazy we get. It’s the same language.”
Clearly, Butler and Heat have become fluent with competing. Butler exhausted himself while helping the Heat challenge the Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the 2020 NBA Finals. Following a first-round exit to Milwaukee (2021), the Heat appeared within striking distance of reaching the NBA Finals again. They lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to Boston, however, and Butler’s potential dagger 3 fell short.
Can Jimmy Butler hoist Larry O’Brien Trophy?
Afterwards, the Heat defended Butler’s shot selection and play. Afterwards, Butler vowed the Heat would return to the same stage the following year. His clairvoyance turned into reality incidentally with the Heat eliminating Boston this time in seven games in the East finals. Butler made little of that development, though. He declined to hold the Eastern Conference Finals trophy, an obvious nod that he cares more about the Larry O’Brien trophy.
“Nobody is satisfied. We haven’t done anything,” Butler told reporters after Game 7. “We don’t play just to win the Eastern Conference; we play to win the whole thing.”
Can the Heat actually win the whole thing? No pressure, but Miami would only have to somehow beat the Western Conference’s top-seeded team four times. The Heat would have to somehow slow down Jokic. They would have to somehow mitigate the Nuggets’ depth that includes a rising young point guard (Jamal Murray), a rising young player (Michael Porter Jr.), a bruising power forward (Aaron Gordon) and two dependable two-way perimeter threats (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown).
Then again, the Heat have an All-Star with positional versatility (Bam Adebayo), two proven All-Stars willing to master reduced roles (Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love) and three undrafted players that can fire from deep (Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson). Of course, Miami also has Butler, who remains confident in both himself and his teammates to defy expectations.
“Because we do it every single day, and we know what we’re capable of,” Butler told reporters. “The outside individuals don’t get the opportunity to see that, and I wish that y’all did because then you would see that the guys that we have on this team and on this roster can really play some high-level basketball. We’re going to stay confident because we’re in the grind every single day.”
That makes the grind ahead seemingly relative.
Butler sounded unfazed on whether the Nuggets will send multiple bodies at him. He never has allowed the opponent to inhibit his aggressiveness. In most cases, Butler has become a willing passer. Butler even apologized to teammates following Miami’s Game 6 loss to Boston for blemishing his 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists with a 5-for-21 mark from the field.
“If I’m not open, I’m going to pass the ball,” Butler told reporters. “I’m going to try to collapse the defense and create help, kick it to my open shooters and play basketball the right way. I know that this team’s way of playing basketball is going to win it.”
Butler downplayed concerns about the additional strain he may feel on his body. He had missed the Heat’s Game 2 loss to New York after spraining his right ankle. Butler aggravated it in Game 7 against Boston. Nonetheless, Butler smiled before dismissing the subject matter.
“Nobody cares. You don’t, either,” Butler told reporters. “I’m still expected to do my job at a high level if I take the floor, which I will. We’re going to be okay. We’re going to get the job done, bum ankle or not.”
Butler appeared unafraid of the upcoming challenge ahead. Regardless of how well Denver plays, Butler projected optimism that won’t change on how he or his teammates react. Expect Butler to still compete through the game’s highs and lows. Expect Butler to chastise teammates for mistakes before encouraging them afterwards. Expect Butler’s teammates to take the feedback in kind.
Will that result in the Heat hoisting an NBA title? Who knows. Nonetheless, Butler likes his chances because of the confidence he holds in himself, his teammates and his coaches.
“It really is a match made in heaven,” Butler told reporters. “I love it here, and I hope to be here.”
Mark Medina is an NBA Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.