Still Knows How Good He Is And Now Also How He Has To Lead Now, But Doesn’t Know When To Assert Himself Jimmy- Philadelphia 76ers Version
Let’s just get right to it. There isn’t a huge difference between this version of Jimmy Butler and the version that the Miami Heat have now, as far as Jimmy himself goes.
The main difference between this version and the Heat’s version is the environment. Going into the Philadelphia situation that we all know he went into, there was a bit of hesitation it seems to assert himself, his demeanor, his beliefs, his practices, and his way of going about things.
You’ve heard the stories now about his time there, such as the infamous silent meeting and dust-up that was all the buzz last season. Butler explained the whole scenario to former 76ers teammate JJ Reddick on Reddick’s podcast.
Situations like these illustrate that he just wasn’t comfortable there being the leader that he is, needs to be, and should be as the rightful leader of a team. Averaging 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.8 steals in his lone season in Philly, Butler helped lead his team to within a crazy Kawhi Leonard shot of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Remember, the team that beat them with that crazy shot went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the East, beat the Golden State Warriors in the West, and win the title in the Toronto Raptors. With the way that the Raptors went about it, with as close as their series with Philly was, and with the talent that the 76ers had on that roster, it’s a safe assumption that they would have had at least a 50 percent chance to have the same fate as the Raptors eventually did.
That still wasn’t the best Jimmy Butler though.