Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler responded to Pat Riley’s comments towards him during last season’s playoffs.
After Butler made comments about the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, Riley had a harsh message for his star player – who missed Miami’s first-round playoff series with an injury.
Pat Riley on Jimmy Butler Celtics and Knicks comments
“Is that Jimmy Trolling or being serious?”
“If your not out there playing, you should keep your mouth shut” 👀 pic.twitter.com/IIZh6pgWoN
— Emo Jimmy (@HeatCulture13) May 6, 2024
On Monday, Butler said that he’s going to go out and play as many games as he can in the 2024-25 season.
Jimmy Butler on Pat Riley “shut your mouth” comments
“I hear him and I’m going to go out there and play as many games as I can”
JIMMY IS LOCKED IN THIS SEASON 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DMB5jlmPCm
— Emo Jimmy (@HeatCulture13) September 30, 2024
This is great news for the Heat, as Butler has not played more than 64 games in a single season since joining the franchise ahead of the 2019-20 season. He’s played in 58, 52, 57, 64 and 60 games with Miami.
While Butler has led the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances and three Eastern Conference Finals appearances over that stretch, the Heat have needed him more in the regular season the past two campaigns.
In the 2022-23 season, Miami made the NBA Finals, but it took an improbable path to get there after earning the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference by way of the play-in tournament.
Last season, the Heat also ended up with the No. 8 seed after getting through the play-in tournament, but they lost to the Celtics in the first round. Butler was injured in a play-in tournament loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, and it cost Miami a real chance at making a deep playoff run.
There’s no doubt that Butler has done a ton of great things for the Heat since joining the franchise, and it appears he’s taking Riley’s challenge to heart in the 2024-25 season.
Butler is also entering an important season for his future, as he could opt out of his contract at the end of this season to become a free agent. If he wants the Heat to commit to him for the long haul, he may need to prove to Riley and the front office that he can play at a high level – and a high number of games – even at 35 years old.
Last season, Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc. He’ll look to build on those numbers when the 2024-25 regular season kicks off later this fall.
