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Jimmy Butler Touts Importance of Players While Courtside at Unrivaled in Miami

NBA superstar Jimmy Butler loves how Unrivaled puts its players first, both on and off the court.
Grant Young|
Jan 19, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) warms up before the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Jan 19, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) warms up before the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

NBA superstar Jimmy Butler isn't happy with the Miami Heat right now.

Butler has made his desire to be traded out of Miami apparent and was recently suspended seven games for, "multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team."

While the six-time NBA All-Star could be headed to a new team in the coming weeks, he's still in Miami at the moment. And in the meantime, he has been spending a lot of time at Wayfair Arena, which is the home of the Unrivaled 3x3 women's basketball league.

Butler was seen working out with WNBA star Satou Sabally earlier this month. And on January 20, he was sitting courtside during Unrivaled's slate of games.

Butler was interviewed by reporter Ros Gold-Onwude during the Phantom BC vs Vinyl BC game. And he made his opinion of Unrivaled's player-focused philosophy (and ownership structure) extremely clear.

"It's what matters. It should always be about the players," Butler said on the broadcast when asked about how cool it is to see players at the center of Unrivaled, both on the court and in terms of league equity.

"The fact that they're running their own league and owning it at the same time is very special and very unique," Butler continued. "So I want everybody to continue to do that and have equity in everything. Own it, and grow it."

While Unrivaled has already impressed the basketball community, the fact that they've just completed their opening weekend seems to suggest that there's still a ton more growth and success to come — which only means good things for all the players who have ownership stakes.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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