The Golden State Warriors striker Jimmy Butler III (10) worked against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half of a basketball match in the NBA on Saturday March 22, 2025 in Atlanta. (Photo / mike stewart)
Miami Shores, Florida – Jimmy Butler has already crossed these first game matches against old teams before. He obtained a standing ovation and a video tribute to Chicago in 2018. He was rété in Minnesota in 2019. He was downright hooked in his return to Philadelphia later that year.
Next: his return to Miami on Tuesday.
And it’s just to expect everything.
Read: NBA: Jimmy Butler’s return game against Miami Heat is getting closer
There will be a tribute video of The Heat, which is not uncommon for players who were stars for the franchise. There will be almost certainly a thunderous introduction when its name is called alongside the rest of the beginners of Golden State. There will be applause. There will be a lot of hoots. Everything is to be expected, especially after the last weeks of Butler in Miami have been spoiled by three suspensions which preceded his job in the Warriors last month.
“There is no resentment,” said Butler on Monday after the Warriors practiced at Barry University. “I’m in a better place now for me.”
He wanted to go out, and the warmth finally gave him his wish. The Warriors have a 16-3 file with Butler in the programming, enough boost to help them withdraw from the game range in the tournament and give them a chance to get a place in a guaranteed qualifying series with a seeded. Butler seems happier and the Warriors play better, so it was a clear victory for Golden State.
Miami has just made a sequence of 10 consecutive defeats. The heat, which is probably resigned to the game tournament as a way to the playoffs, always adapts to life after Jimmy.
“Obviously, there will be a lot of different feelings on this subject,” said Heat Erik Spoelstra coach about Butler’s return to Miami. “I will probably not express them all and that’s right. But we had an excellent five -year race and we did not win the title. But only one team. We had great moments here.”
Read: NBA: Hawks Get have warriors, win Splay of Season Series
The Heat went to the final of the Eastern Conference three times in the Butler era, made the NBA final twice and won 268 games, including qualifying series, during its first five seasons with the club – the fifth more of the league during this period. But when he was not offered an extension last summer, the relationship began to break out. He was suspended three times for various violations of the team’s rules and did not hesitate to specify that he thought that a change of decor was necessary. The heat said they would not exchange it, so had no choice but to change course.
The Warriors have made the offer that agreed, and suddenly, they again look like contenders for the title.
“It was incredible. He is the best players in the league. He immediately transformed our team,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “We have been 16-4 since we got it. It is a very unique talent. It’s a superstar, but it’s a subtle superstar. He does not impress you with his jump capacity or his prowess or his speed. It’s just his brute force and his brain. He is one of the smartest players, and he is obviously a great player. him.”
Read: NBA: The unhappy Heat star Jimmy Butler heads to Warriors
For the record, Butler’s teams went 1-2 in Jimmy-Goes-Back matches during his career. The Minnesota lost 114-113 in Chicago on February 9, 2018, Philadelphia won 118-109 in Minnesota on March 30, 2019 and Miami lost 113-86 in Philadelphia on November 23, 2019.
Butler insists that for him, Tuesday will only be another day.
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“It’s basketball. It’s very simple,” said Butler. “I don’t have all the emotions that everyone thinks I’m going to have. That’s what it is. I realize that we have spent great years here. I built incredible links with certain people in the organization, in the city, hell, in the state of Florida. But I’m going to Hoop. I will play basketball. “
