“He Was Hated”: Jimmy Butler on Dwyane Wade’s Heat Legacy as He Responds to Statue Unveiling Honor

Dwyane Wade garnered immense love during his time with the Miami Heat, but was there a certain amount of hate too? Well, there seemed to be a few who were not quite fond of playing against The Flash. “Hated playing against him” — Gilbert Arenas’ confession was a testament to what D-Wade could do to other teams at his best. And now, Jimmy Butler has something similar to add to this.

During a recent media interaction, Butler was asked about the upcoming statue unveiling of the 3x NBA champ. “All I do know is as much as he done for this organization for the city, game of basketball, he’s beloved by everybody. He was hated by a lot of people too, because he beat up on their favorite teams, rightfully so… So whatever statue that there is, just know that it’s all heart that’s inside the statue,” he replied.

Well, the 611 regular season games (as per StatMuse) and 3 championships that he won through his career meant a loss for the other team. So Butler’s analogy makes sense. But in no way does he mean to diminish the Heat icon’s honor.

If anything, Jimmy highlighted how “it’s only right that his (Wade) name is on that court (Kaseya Center-Heat’s home court)”. Not just for the Heat but for the entire league with his contribution to the game.

No wonder that almost all basketball enthusiasts are excited for Wade’s statue unveiling. While the pose for the bronze marvel is still unknown, speculations were quite hard on his popular “this is my house” pose.

It’s only the hype around the statue that prompted the interviewers to ask Butler about the statue. But for the 35-year-old, Wade is bigger than any statue or maybe even the game itself. “I think his influence on me is much bigger than basketball,” he said during the media interaction. But is that what The Flash thinks of himself?

Dwyane Wade accepts being a bad influence on Jimmy Butler and Chicago Bulls

The Miami Heat icon spent just one season in Chicago. And according to him, his presence on the team may not have been as positive as you’d expect. Especially for a rising star like Jimmy Butler. “I set a bad precedent, I apologize. Jimmy Butler was on that team, so he probably picked up some bad habits from me,” Wade admitted, showing an honesty that few players at his level often share.

But why does The Flash feel this way? He opened up about being in a different phase of his career, where, as he put it, he was more focused on enjoying himself than mentoring. “I was old… I got one year to get out and stretch my arms, I was like I’m about to take advantage.”

Looking back, Wade’s time with the Chicago Bulls ended with the team as the eighth seed in the East. Eventually falling to the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. However, Butler’s aforementioned confession about Dwyane Wade’s influence on him has cleared the 35-year-old has none of this on his mind now. So anyone could “hate” the 3x NBA champ, but there’s barely any doubt that Butler is one of them.