“Wannabe Kobe Bryant Is Talking Again”: NBA Fans Condemn Jimmy Butler’s Threat Towards Pat Riley

Before joining Golden State, Jimmy Butler was the biggest newsmaker in the league, albeit for the wrong reasons. His antics, showing disdain for the Miami Heat organization, disobeying every instruction or order, and being so openly proud about it all, led to one of the worst breakups in NBA history. It seems some traces of bitterness from the saga still linger on.

Butler was constantly being suspended and ridiculed at the time. He decided not to stay in Miami any longer, but the franchise gave him a tough time for being stubborn. After months of bad press, Pat Riley’s Heat caved in and announced that Butler would be traded. This led him to Golden State, where he seemingly found his footing next to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

Ahead of his first game in Miami after leaving the Heat, Butler was asked how he would interact if his and Riley’s paths crossed during the game. Butler’s reply portrayed that he is not yet ready to let go of the hard feelings.

“I have nothing to say to Pat, and Pat better have nothing to say to me,” said Butler.

The response is not surprising given the history and the recency of the episode. But it is shocking considering who Riley is and the respect he holds among all his current and former athletes. Fans were not very happy with it either.

“Wannabe Kobe [Bryant] is talking again?” commented a fan on X. The reference to the Lakers legend stems from Bryant’s free-spirited and brutally blunt and honest nature. This was all the more true when he was speaking on any topics that triggered him. However, Butler is being called out as “fake tough” by the fans.

The forward, on his part, has never been one to worry about people’s comments. It’s likely that he won’t be affected by any of it.

Butler has been dismissive about his time in Miami. Despite making two trips to the Finals with the franchise, he seems not keen to acknowledge that he had some good times with the Heat too. Maybe things were that much worse behind the scenes.

Riley berated Butler for trolling the Boston Celtics

Before last year’s playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics, Butler suffered an MCL injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. In his absence, the Celtics beat Miami in five games to qualify for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Despite being out of action, Butler’s trash talk continued, as he took shots at the C’s on social media.

Butler, it seemed, was at a party where he talked about the Celtics and the Knicks. He said, “If I were playing, Boston would be at home. New York damn sure would be f**king at home.” This off-court trolling didn’t sit well with Riley.

“For him to say that, I thought, ‘Is that Jimmy trolling, or is that Jimmy serious?’ 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,” said Riley at the end-of-season media interaction.

Following that, Butler’s extension demand wasn’t entertained, and things unravelled pretty quickly from that point onward.