Inside The Heat

From LeBron James To Kyle Lowry And Now Jimmy Butler, Pat Riley Has Always Challenged Superstars

Shandel Richardson

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

It's been nearly a week since Miami Heat team president Pat Riley shook up the NBA with his comments regarding star Jimmy Butler.

To recap, Riley took exception to Butler conducting an interview that said the Heat would still be in the playoffs if he were healthy. Butler missed the postseason because of a knee injury. The Heat lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the first round.


"For him to say that, I thought 'Is that Jimmy trolling or is that Jimmy serious?'" Riley said. "If you're not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut and your criticism of those teams."

It created a speculation frenzy about if Butler will remain with the Heat. This is no surprise and neither is Riley calling out players at the end of the season, especially that that ends on a sour note.


As ESPN radio host Evan Cohen noted on an appearance on the Jeff Fox Show, this is nothing new for Riley. He's done it in the past with other superstars, including LeBron James. After the Heat lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals, Riley issued a challenge to James.

"This stuff is hard," Riley said. "And you've got to stay together if you've got the guts and you don't find the first door and run out of it if you've got an opportunity." 

A month later, James left the Heat in favor of returning home to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat were left in purgatory for five years before trading for Butler, who has led them to two Finals appearances since 2020.

Riley did the same with future Hall of Famer Kyle Lowry in 2022. He questioned Lowry's commitment to conditioning after he spent the season battling weight issues.

"The bottom line with me and for me as far as hoping you can get the most out of a player … is that you have to be in world class shape, you just have to be," Riley said.

So Butler isn't the first to hear it publicly from Riley. And he won't be the last long as Riley is in charge.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson

SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here