Jimmy Butler's Finals Run With Heat Continues to Haunt 76ers

Jimmy Butler was considered a 'Philly Guy' for a little while last season. After getting traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Philadelphia 76ers early on during the 2018-2019 season, Butler's confident and chippy personality style was immediately embraced in the City of Brotherly Love -- despite the supposed locker room concerns surrounding Butler from his days in Minnesota and Chicago.

Plenty of Philly fans wanted Butler back on the Sixers back for the long-term, but the organization failed to make it happen. Disbelief in Brett Brown as a head coach, hearing unfavorable messages from the front office, and not knowing who was really in charge of the team left Butler concerned about remaining with the Sixers on a max contract. Therefore, he had his sights set on the Miami Heat.

By the time July approached, the Sixers had agreed to a sign and trade with the Heat, which would send Butler down to South Beach. Back then, everybody believed Butler's will to want to go to Miami was a mistake.

Many believed the 76ers were ready to compete for the Finals while the Heat were a sixth-seed squad at best. Ironically enough, the Heat overachieved while the 76ers placed sixth during the 2019-2020 NBA season.

But Butler didn't get his last laugh after the regular season, no. Not only did the Sixers notch the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, but they failed to overcome the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.

The Sixers managed to lose every single game and were out of the NBA bubble after four-straight losses to add insult to injury. Meanwhile, Butler and Miami trailblazed their way to the NBA Finals.

The Heat might be behind 3-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals currently, but Jimmy Butler's most recent personal accomplishment surely is a slap in the face to his old franchise, who believed they could be better off without him.

In Game 4 of the Finals, Butler was held to a series-low of 22 points. However, those 22 points were enough for the Heat star to surpass the Sixers' entire team total from this year's playoffs.

Yes, you read that right. Jimmy Butler, who collected 420 points alone this offseason, has scored more points during the 2020 NBA Playoffs than the 76ers, who totaled for 402, during their four games against the Celtics.

It's necessary to note that Butler has clearly played more games than Philly did during this year's postseason run. Still, the amount of games doesn't take away from the harsh reality that Philly had an extremely disappointing playoff run, while Butler really hit his stride elsewhere. Regardless of whether the Heat wins or not, Butler's success one year following his Sixers' departure will haunt Philly for years to come.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_