Heat Veteran Explains Jimmy Butler’s ‘Extraordinary’ Trait

Jake Elman | Feb 7, 2025

May 25, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) talks with guard Duncan Robinson (55) during the fourth quarter of game five of the 2022 eastern conference finals against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Miami Heat forward Duncan Robinson spent six seasons playing alongside All-Star Jimmy Butler.

Robinson didn’t need long to realize what made Butler special.

“He’s the only player I’ve seen—or at least the one who does it the most—where his competitive spirit and will are what separate him,” Duncan told the Young Man and the Three podcast. 

“You look at his game, and yeah, he has skill,” Robinson continued. “Obviously, he’s got good footwork, he’s athletic, but there’s nothing extraordinary about anything he does other than his competitive spirit and will.”

It’s easy to forget Butler wasn’t an immediate superstar. Chicago used the No. 30 pick on him in 2011, and he spent much of his first two seasons coming off the bench. 

It wasn’t until 2015, when he earned All-Star honors and won Most Improved Player, that Butler became a legitimate household name. Already one of the league’s top defenders, Butler developed into a dynamic scorer and perennial All-Star.

Robinson is right. Talent is one thing, and it’s often (understandably) what makes players successful. 

However, competitiveness and dedication to one’s craft separate the elite players from the good or great. Both allowed Butler to go from backup forward to future Hall of Famer—and, depending on how his Warriors stint goes, a potential champion.

HEAT FANS SUPPORT WIGGINS’ CHOICE

New Heat forward Andrew Wiggins will wear No. 22, just as he did in Minnesota and Golden State. 

Of course, Butler wore the same number during his six seasons in Miami.

Teams sometimes take numbers out of circulation, especially if the player in question had the success Butler did in Miami. The New York Yankees didn’t offer players Alex Rodriguez’s No. 13 for nearly a decade until ex-Marlin Jazz Chisolm wore it last season.

X (formerly Twitter) user @HeatvsHaters posted a poll Thursday night asking if the Heat allowing Wiggins to wear No. 22 is “not a big deal” or disrespectful. Nearly 8,000 people voted on the poll as of Friday morning.

Luckily for Wiggins, most Heat fans support him wearing Butler’s old number. A resounding 66.3% believe it’s not a big deal. 

LOVE HINTS AT NEXT MOVE

Heat big man Kevin Love appears ready to call it quits.

No, the five-time All-Star forward isn’t retiring yet. At least, not to our knowledge.

Instead, Love signaled he’s walking away from his recent social media antics. The sparsely-used veteran spent recent weeks posting memes and movie clips on Instagram, frequently mocking teammates and the lingering Jimmy Butler trade saga.

However, Butler is headed to Golden State. Rather than publicly declare his new target, Love implied he’s done playing stand-up comedian.

“Generational Run,” Love wrote on Instagram, attaching a video of Michael Jordan’s 1993 retirement press conference. 

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.