Jimmy Butler is hearing it from his critics following a lackluster playoff performance in an elimination game. The Golden State Warriors’ trade acquisition failed to step up without Steph Curry, and they lost 4 straight. Now, former Miami Heat legends Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade aren’t letting Butler hear the end of it.
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It’s no secret that Butler struggled these playoffs after Curry went down with a hamstring injury. He failed to cross 30 points in three of four games, all of which were losses. And following a tumultuous departure from his former Miami Heat squad at the trade deadline, it seems like Wade and Haslem are enjoying Butler’s failures.
UD started by going on a rant on First Take about how the “Playoff Jimmy” title needs to be put to bed.
“As great as Jimmy is, the Playoff Jimmy thing has put Jimmy Butler in a conversation with guys that maybe are a little bit above Jimmy Butler,” Haslem pointed out. “And sometimes the Playoff Jimmy expectations are the expectations all the time… Jimmy Butler’s not that unstoppable guy.”
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The rant went viral as many couldn’t believe Haslem would question Butler’s previous showings of clutch performances in the playoffs, especially for his Heat team. It wasn’t too long ago that Jimmy earned the title by leading Miami as a surprise 8 seed to the Finals
Yet, Wade seemed to subtly agree with his former teammate by liking the post.
“Liked by dwyanewade”️ pic.twitter.com/tZ9eLPW0Rt
— ✌ (@HeatRuinedme) May 15, 2025
Now, this isn’t a complete denouncement of Butler from Wade. After all, we’ve all accidentally liked something one time or another. Wade was probably just supporting his former teammate, who doesn’t appear on the show too much.
However, something Wade said while live streaming Game 5 of the Warriors and Wolves has many thinking otherwise. “Hey no. 10 on Golden State, if you can hear me, DO SOMETHING!” yelled out Wade during the 4th quarter livestream.
Butler and Wade were teammates in Chicago before the latter retired. They also stayed friends when Jimmy was in South Beach these past few seasons. In fact, Wade has been super kind to Butler in the past. But recently, he was a bit critical of the way he forced his way out of Miami.
All in all, it was clear that Wade and Haslem wanted to see more from Butler in this series. Ultimately, he came up short; it happens. Let’s not forget he was playing through a tailbone injury, and as mentioned, without Curry.
Whether Butler can still be that guy on a roster that wants to compete for titles remains to be seen. He’s still never won the Larry O’Brien despite piloting the Heat to 2 appearances in 3 seasons. Now, approaching 36, it’s looking like his best days are behind him. If he can win, it’s not going to be solely because of him. Butler will need to ride someone’s coattails to capture the title someday.
