Jimmy Butler showed his appreciation for Victor Oladipo after the veteran guard made an impact in his 2022 playoff debut for the Miami Heat.

With Kyle Lowry injured and out, Oladipo got the opportunity to play in Game 4 against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. Sure enough, he made the most of the chance given to him and impressed in his 23 minutes on the floor. Dipo scored six points and recorded eight rebounds and four assist as Miami secured the 110-86 win.

Oladipo struggled to shoot the ball, going 3-of-10 from the field including 0-of-5 from deep, but he made his presence felt on other areas and actually finished with the second highest plus-minus for the Heat with +28.

Butler highlighted how critical Oladipo was in the contest and shared how he has always supported him when he was out of the Heat's rotation.

“You be who you are, you stay aggressive because when your number is called, which it was, you see what happens,” Butler said on what he had been telling Oladipo before his playoff debut.

Jimmy Butler also addressed the rumors painting him as the bad guy preventing Victor Oladipo to get playing time. Veteran broadcaster Skip Bayless recently claimed that Butler told head coach Erik Spoelstra he doesn't want to play with the 29-year-old guard, hence his benching.

The Heat superstar noted that he's used to such allegations about his character, but he emphasized that it's never his call who gets to play or not–which is why he has been talking about to Dipo to stay patient and ready.

The Heat are now 3-1 against the Hawks, and in order for them to close things in Game 5, Dipo will have to play a crucial role once again. Fortunately, it doesn't look like it will be a problem.