“It Was All Nikola Jovic’s Fault”: Jimmy Butler Blames His 1 Game Suspension On His Heat Teammate

NBA fans witnessed a heated clash as the New Orleans Pelicans hosted the Miami Heat at the Smoothie King Center. A series of controversial incidents within the game led to a 1-game suspension for the visitor’s talismanic figure, Jimmy Butler. Following the incident, the tides turned unexpectedly as the 34-year-old openly blamed his teammate Nikola Jovic for the outcome.

The situation was spurred by a deliberate push from Naji Marshall on Jimmy Buckets. The Heat star soon confronted the Pelicans player before the latter lunged at his neck, sparking an on-court brawl. Eventually, both the rosters engaged to de-escalate the scenario as things returned to normal momentarily.

The chaos broke out yet again as Jovic intervened to seemingly take revenge on behalf of Butler. The 20-year-old Serbian directed words at the opposition as his actions resulted in another fight between the two teams.

The lingering effect of the entire incident stayed on as the NBA suspended Butler for a match upon inspection. It led to a reaction out of the 6ft 7″ stat as he expressed his thoughts on Instagram. The 6x All-Star uploaded an edited poster of the Hollywood movie, “Bad Boys” with his and Jovic’s faces on it. With the caption, “It was all Nikola Jovic’s fault,” the post also contained the movie’s “Lock me up” scene to signify his current condition.

His actions gained momentum as the Heat star continued uploading screenshots of various songs to mark similar intentions. Soon, his Instagram stories ranged from Akon’s ‘Locked Up’ and Kanye West’s ‘Jail’ to K-Ci & JoJo’s ‘Life’.

These endeavors added a layer to the light-hearted character of the Texas-born. Despite calling out his teammate publicly, the post only showcased the close bond between the players as Butler appreciated Jovic’s response on his behalf. Alongside this, his hilarious exchanges with his followers shed light on his acceptance of fate while refusing to let it hurt his pride.

The aftermath of the brawl between Jimmy Butler and Naji Marshall

Alongside Butler, two other Heat players have faced suspension for their actions. Jovic has been banned from the next game without payment for voluntarily leaving the bench to participate in the altercation. Thomas Bryant faced a harsher sentence for a similar action as the 26-year-old will miss out on the upcoming three matches due to suspension.

Hence, during the post-match conference, Butler reflected on the entire situation ahead of a tough away clash against the Sacramento Kings. “I wanna go out and I wanna compete with my guys…I think we do have enough to get it done. It might be a little bit more difficult…We’re expected to win, and that’s what we’re gonna do,” he declared showcasing faith in the roster.

Amidst the hardships, Erik Spoelstra questioned the decision of the NBA’s governing body. “I felt like Jimmy shouldn’t have gotten a game. It was really just kind of a tangling and a little bit of pushing. I don’t think that deserves another game cause he ended up having to miss the fourth quarter. But it is what it is,” the 2x champion head coach stated.

Seemingly, the Heat camp unitedly backed their actions while displaying immense trust in each other. Right ahead of the playoffs, this incident undoubtedly serves as a major obstacle in their path. Yet, the unshaken bond within the roster could aid in overcoming it comfortably.