Jimmy Butler faces his last chance to cement status as an all-time great

There should be no question about where Jimmy Butler stands on the Miami Heat Mount Rushmore. With Dwyane Wade clearly ranking at the top of Heat players, some would say Butler and LeBron James are interchangeable right after. The fact that Butler has done so much while given less shows his impact on winning and overall greatness.

Unlike the “big three” era over a decade ago, Butler has willed undermanned and underdog Heat squads to multiple NBA Finals runs. Some of the media noted his free agent move to South Florida in 2019 as a nonstarter, citing that he and the team may not ever get out of the first round of the playoffs. Instead, Butler has put the franchise on his back to reach a pair of NBA Finals and a game 7 of an Eastern Conference finals over a five-year span.

Shortly after Miami’s 2023 run, senior writer of The Athletic John Hollinger had this to say in an article about Butler: "He's among the very best players of his time, an automatic Hall of Famer and, at the very least, one of the 100 best to ever play this game."

For context, that season’s improbable eighth seed playoff run featured Butler averaging nearly 30 points per game, including a 56-point explosion against the top seed Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. He is now the owner of the fourth-highest scoring playoff game in NBA history. 

With all this being said, there is one major accolade that Butler is missing to properly cement his legacy -- a championship.

Regardless of the fact that there are clear reasons to justify a future Hall of Fame berth, even Butler himself would agree that there needs to be a championship to complete his resume. Based on his age, going into his age-35 season, there isn’t much room at all for a dynasty or even a couple championships at this point. But just a single chip would be enough to cement himself as a certified NBA legend.

Unfortunately, the Heat are running out of time. Butler isn’t getting any younger and he is coming off a season-ending knee injury. The 2024-25 season could potentially be his last chance to capitalize on this championship window before starting to decline. However, a new season comes with a clean slate.

This core of Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier needs one healthy season and playoff run to maximize this era of Heat basketball. The talent, depth and coaching is clearly all there, it just comes down to being available to build the proper cohesion and prove their talents on the court.

As great as the Butler era has been, that elusive championship ring remains the lone accolade to complete his impressive Heat tenure.