“Wasn’t Nearly Good Enough”: All-Star Rival Opens up on Jimmy Butler’s Crazy Drama at Timberwolves

Jimmy Butler is finally where he thought he should be – playing in the NBA Finals. After his historic Game 3 performance, in which he became the third player to score a 40-point triple-double (40-13-11) behind Jerry West and LeBron James, Butler is proving his pedigree. But there was a time when people doubted him. One unnamed All-Star has revealed he wasn’t quite buying into the hype.

Butler’s first season with the Miami Heat has been nothing short of absolute success. He helped them secure the 5 seed in East and has been the talisman for the South Beach squad as they’ve made it out of the Eastern conference, even defeating the number 1 seed in the Bucks with regular-season MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antentokoumnpo en-route to the NBA Finals.

‘Jimmy Buckets’ has been absolutely crucial for the Heat in the Playoffs, averaging about 22.1 points-per-game, the most for any player on the team. But there was a time when Butler felt like an unnecessary disrupting force for a locker-room, during his tenures with the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Butler’s quality wasn’t demanding of the attention he got

During the 2018-19 All-Star game, a rival All-Star (who wishes to stay anonymous) revealed to Sam Amick of The Athletic that he didn’t think Butler’s game and his antics warranted the kind of media attention he garnered. Amick wrote, “This was right about the time the drama was reaching its peak, with Butler embarrassing the Timberwolves starters during practice by beating them while playing with the second team and then sharing his unfiltered views about the organization publicly during an in-person, clearly-choreographed appearance on ESPN’s “The Jump” during that same afternoon.”

“It was, as one of the many headlines put it back then, simply savage. As this particular player saw it, though, Butler wasn’t nearly good enough to monopolize the media attention like he was back then. There was an unmistakable annoyance in the commentary, a strong sense that Butler hadn’t accomplished nearly enough to warrant this sort of spotlight and, in essence, wasn’t worth all this trouble.”

Butler’s time at Minnesota was marred with controversy, and he got traded to the 76ers just one season after the Timberwolves brought him in. But now, the former Marquette player looks to have found a home in Miami and is finally living up to his own potential and expectations.

Was Butler wrong for the antics he displayed during his time with the Timberwolves? Or was he within his rights to say and do as he pleased?