Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler won the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP trophy after defeating the Boston Celtics in Game 7.
Butler was the undisputed leader of the team that led them to storming out of the gate with a 3-0 lead. Although the Celtics battled back with gusto and forced a Game 7, it was the Heat that took charge to make their second NBA Finals appearance in four years. In this series, Butler averaged 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.
However, he wasn't the clear-cut winner of the Eastern Finals MVP trophy. Jimmy Butler actually won the votings only on a 5-4 advantage over Caleb Martin, per NBA Communications.
The reason for this is because Caleb Martin would go on to be the unsung hero for the Heat this series. Coming into the showdown, he has only averaged 13.4 points per game on 42% shooting from three, mainly contributing as a 3-and-D wing player. But he stepped up in a big way, especially in the pivotal Game 7 where he scored 26 points on an efficient 11-of-16 shooting against a home team that had all the momentum coming into this game. Caleb kept his composure, stayed ready, came up big when the lights shined the brightest, and completely silenced the Celtics with a bevy of timely shots that kept them out of the game.
Caleb Martin certainly has to feel this way after not winning the Larry Bird trophy:
But regardless, one thing's for sure: everyone in the Heat organization are the clear-cut winners. They prevented the Celtics from making history, and they will now face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.
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