Basketball Reference, a popular resource for NBA fans all around the world, has added the nickname “Himmy Butler” to the individual page of Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler.
New nickname just dropped 👀 pic.twitter.com/og4BrLmiQ6
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) April 28, 2023
That addition joins some other nicknames that the Heat veteran has been given over the course of his NBA career. It comes in the wake of his team’s stunning upset of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Butler’s already impressive legacy was strongly enhanced during the final two contests of the series against Milwaukee. In Game 4, he led the Heat to a comeback win by scoring 56 points. In Game 5, he hit a clutch shot to send the clincher to overtime. He finished that one with 42 points.
Butler’s heroics are nothing new, especially to Heat fans. Three years ago, the Heat also managed to beat to Bucks in the postseason en route to the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance in six years.
That postseason took place under unprecedented circumstances, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that was still raging at the time. All playoff games were played without crowds and under carefully controlled surroundings in Orlando, Fla.
Even though the Heat lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals, the hope was that Butler would once again help the Heat return to the championship series in the future.
That failed to materialize in 2021 and also didn’t happen last season despite an admirable effort. The Heat fell in Game 7 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, with hopes that the run would spur the team on for the 2022-23 season.
Such hopes didn’t really come together for the Heat in this year’s regular season, with the team nearly getting eliminated during the play-in portion of the schedule. However, since emerging from that, the team has shown that it’s very dangerous, and Miami is now flirting with the idea of another deep playoff run.
Butler’s current focus is undoubtedly on the New York Knicks and not another nickname. His main intent right now is to lead the Heat to their first NBA title in a decade.
