Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has played for four teams in nine seasons in the NBA since being selected with the 30th overall pick in the 2011 Draft. But his performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers has to be considered the best game of his life. Butler racked up an amazing 40-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound triple-double in a crucial Heat victory.
Butler, however, doesn’t seem to agree that it was his best performance. His best game ever came years before that. Don’t bother looking for highlights of this game, because it didn’t happen in the NBA or in the NCAA during his time with Marquette.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the 31-year-old claimed his best performance ever came when he was a 17-year-old playing against grown men in an adult league, per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Jimmy Butler grew up in Texas, playing at Tomball High School before going to Tyler Junior College for his freshman season before finding his way to Marquette. Butler has been proving doubters wrong his whole life, and his drive and competitiveness was likely developed when he took on much older players as a teenager.
Even if he doesn’t think so, Butler’s Game 3 performance was one for the books. With the Heat missing two of their best players in Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo, Butler put the young team on his back, dropping his 40 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe. Amazingly, he didn't attempt a single 3-pointer.
The five-time All Star will have a chance to show if he can have another best performance when the series resumes with Game 4 on Tuesday. Jimmy Butler is already having himself a whale of an NBA Finals, and he'll look to add to his growing legend.