On Tuesday night, there was much anticipation surrounding Jimmy Butler in his first return to Kaseya Center since the Golden State Warriors got him in a trade from the Miami Heat. The Butler saga took quite a big toll on the Heat organization, and they felt like they had no choice but to trade away the 35-year-old star who led the team to a few deep playoff runs despite fielding an undertalented/undermanned roster.
Kevin Love, who has turned into quite the jokester over the past year or so, found a way to make fun of such a situation. The Heat veteran posted another meme on his official Instagram account, this time comparing Butler to Michael Jordan when Jordan met with Larry Bird in the hallway after his Chicago Bulls defeated Bird's Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
https://twitter.com/HeatCulture13/status/1904593522679779378
For Jordan, he was simply engaging in banter with Bird, whom he had a ton of playoff battles against back in the 1980s. While the Bulls legend meant what he said from the innermost depths of his soul, it was a bit of playful banter between two on-court foes whose relationship off the court has only grown stronger with time.
For Love and Butler, they went through war together during the Heat's run to the NBA Finals in 2023, so there was certainly a strong friendship that was built between the two. And while Butler didn't exactly leave the Heat organization on the best of terms, it's telling that Love can still joke around with him in this manner even though he's on the Warriors now.
In the end, it was Love and the Heat that got the last laugh anyway, as they blew the Warriors out, 112-86, in what was a harsh homecoming for their former star.
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Heat dish out the pain in Jimmy Butler's return to Miami
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) celebrates after hitting a three point basket during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
With the Warriors being shorthanded due to the absence of Stephen Curry, it was always going to be difficult for them to come into Miami and grab a victory, especially when the Heat team is motivated to prove Butler wrong.
Bam Adebayo, especially, was a force to be reckoned with. He put up 27 points and eight rebounds on 9-18 shooting from the field, and he had a huge poster dunk over his former Heat running mate just for good measure.
The Heat have now won two games in a row, bouncing back a bit after going on a disastrous 10-game losing streak.