Being alums of Marquette University, Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade already had something in common even before they were teammates during their time at Chicago. They were teammates for just 1 season, but their bond was much older. D-Wade had been helping out Butler since before the 2011 Draft. However, the 3-time champ revealed that he didn’t believe the latter to be good enough to be in the league. Fast forward 12 years later, The Flash is courtside, endorsing his elder brother-like relationship with Jimmy.
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The two-way stars grew closer as time passed by and even shared some hilarious incidents together. This one time, Butler would try flirting with Gabrielle Union by commenting, “WELL DAMN!!” on one of her photos. And jokingly, yet displaying his over-possessiveness, the 3-time NBA champ would clap back in the form of a threat:
Put well damn in caps on my wife photo again and you’re gonna see what the good, the bad, and the ugly is like
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This playful banter only depicts the camaraderie the two share.
Dwyane Wade waves a t-shirt depicting an elder brother-like relationship with Jimmy Butler
Wade was among the numerous big names at the Kaseya Center for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Cheering on his former team, Dwyane was also seen waving a t-shirt that portrayed his elder brother-like relationship with Jimmy Buckets.
The backside of the t-shirt read ‘Himmy’ whereas the front had an old photo of Jimmy and Wade along with a ‘Lion King’ reference. A play on the Disney movie – how it was a father and son relation with Mufasa and Simba with a Lion and Cub poster, and how it’s two brothers here, with two lions on the t-shirt.
NBA’s official Instagram account posted a video of the same.
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Despite the support he received from Dwyane Wade, Neymar, and thousands of others, Jimmy was unable to lead the Heat to a Game 3 win. In the 109-94 loss, the ECF MVP lodged a team-high 28 points along with 4 assists, and 2 rebounds while finishing the night with a box plus-minus of -10.
D-Wade recruiting Butler has paid off well for the Heat
During their lone season as teammates with the Chicago Bulls, the 6-foot-4 combo guard spoke highly of the culture in Miami. Even though Jimmy made his way to Minnesota and then Philadelphia after Chicago, he always remembered what DWade told him. When Wade was retiring in 2019, he pushed Butler to go to Miami, and well, that move has paid off well.
In the 4 years since his arrival, the Heat has already made 2 Finals appearances. Prior to the NBA Finals series commencing, Jimmy even expressed his appreciation towards Wade. Giving a shout-out to the 2006 Finals MVP, the 6-foot-7 forward said:
“I’m me & my style of leadership works here. More than anything, I gotta give a shout out to Dwyane Wade. He always told me about the culture here & how it fits who I am & what I’m about. It really is a match made in heaven.”
Jimmy Butler on his leadership 💯
(via @TomerAzarly) pic.twitter.com/ELJYMwh2Vr
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 31, 2023
Clearly, Dwyane Wade was spot-on with his predictions of Jimmy and the Heat franchise complementing each other. Maybe it’s time for Wade to become a full-time scout?!