Jimmy Butler started his NBA career in 2011 with the Chicago Bulls when he made a pledge over the Miami Heat.
Butler stated during one of his first interviews as a professional player that he would never wear a Heat jersey. Years later, the pledge was breached.
“When I arrived in the league, the Heat always beat the Bulls with their Big 3 [LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh]. It was the Heatles,” Butler said.
“So, being drafted by the Bulls, I couldn’t like the Miami Heat. I couldn’t like Dwayne Wade even though I played for the same university [Marquette] as him.
“A while later I was playing with Wade on the Bulls and I thought: this guy is not bad. So I understood that it was just what [Tom Thibodeau, former Chicago coach] had put in my head.” Butler added.
Butler was the 30th pick in the 2011 Draft. During his first six seasons in the NBA, he played for the Bulls, earning three All-Star honours.
At the beginning of the last decade, the Heat dominated Butler and the rest of the Chicago team. The Heat were the team to beat despite a franchise record of four wins and four losses in the forward’s first two regular seasons.
In 2013, incidentally, he beat the Bulls in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference. Subsequently, Miami won its second consecutive NBA title.
In 2016/17, Butler made his last campaign with the Chicago team. In it, he played alongside a veteran Wade, fresh from Miami.
Along with Rajon Rondo, another offseason acquisition, he led the franchise to a 41-41 record, finishing No. 8 in the East. However, the squad ended up losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Boston Celtics.
