Is Jimmy Butler A Better Fit In Miami Heat Than LeBron James Ever Was?

To all those guys who were talking about how Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will be too much for Jimmy Butler’s Miami Heat to handle, this is what happens when you underestimate a franchise full of talent, potential and absolute badassery.

With two games of the Eastern Conference Semis behind us, basketball fans from all over the world are having trouble believing what they are seeing, everyone but the people who truly knew what the new Miami Heat was all about.

A fifth-seeded roster with a bunch of nobodies led by a man who has been trolled and called out for being selfish, too harsh to his teammates and just a ‘regular joe’ who just didn’t have enough to become a superstar, Jimmy Butler has proven to be a little too much for the best team in the league (in terms of numbers) and the reigning MVP of the NBA and the 2019-2020 Defensive Player of the Year.

After opening the game wide open in the fourth quarter with a 40-point performance in Game 1, and a silent yet critical show of leadership in Game 2, including the final two free-throws that broke the Bucks’ hearts, Butler has been on a mission to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

This Playoff run by the Heat is the greatest by the team in the latter half of the 2010-2020 decade. They have had their share of highs between 2010-2014 with a ‘superteam’ with names like Dwywane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James leading the charge to four conference titles and two NBA championships.

But with all those names in the past and a younger, less experienced roster to be able to go toe-to-toe with a 56-win team can’t go ignored.

Is Jimmy Butler A Greater Fit In Miami Heat Than LeBron James Ever Was?

When James came to Florida, he brought along a lot of extra baggage.

People hated him for making “The Decision”, his jerseys burned in Ohio, the pressure of winning a title was immense, and being viewed as the face of the league at the time and joining a team with extraordinary talent didn’t give him a lot of good press.

For Jimmy, the additional pressure was gone. He almost took the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals but Kawhi Leonard’s final-second shot and overall prowess took away the attention from him.

Then there is the whole debate of having the ‘Bad Man’ mentality.

Regardless of how dominating the Heat were during the James-Wade era, LeBron was always considered to be an extra good guy, who’d never take a harsh decision and go against his own teammates even if it was the right thing to do.

Butler couldn’t care less.

Maybe that is the reason why coach Eric Spoelstra and franchise president Pat Riley love Jimmy so much and even tried their best to make him feel at home as soon as he joined the team in the summer of 2019.

He brought a cultural revolution to the team, it was because of Jimmy that his teammates started joining him for practice at 3:30 AM at the gym.

Despite his greatness, LeBron never had such an impact on the Heat.