Pau Gasol was glad to see his former team capture the NBA championship on Sunday night. But Gasol also gave a shoutout to former teammate Jimmy Butler.
Gasol took to Twitter on Monday morning to hail Butler as âone of the best players in the worldâ and a âgreat leaderâafter Butler helped a compromised Heat team push the Los Angeles Lakers to six games.
I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge how proud I am of @JimmyButler. You're one of the best players in the world, and a great leader!!
Congratulations to you and to the @MiamiHEAT on an outstanding season đđđ
Love you little bro! pic.twitter.com/icWzUNeiiR
â Pau Gasol (@paugasol) October 12, 2020
Gasol and Butler have a past together.
The two shared the floor as teammates with the Chicago Bulls from 2014 to 2016. Interestingly enough, Gasol's arrival in the Windy City coincided with Jimmy Butler's first All-Star appearance. Both Gasol and Butler would make consecutive All-Star teams in Chicago, and the 2014-15 Bulls came just short of reaching the conference finals.
Of course, Gasol would probably be the first to acknowledge Butler has raised his level of play, and took his game to a new level during the Finals.
Butler averaged 26.2 points, 9.8 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals for the series while shooting above 55 percent from the field. But his dogged mindset was every bit as admirable as his play on the floor.
The 31-year-old repeatedly stressed he felt the Heat could win the series despite Miami trailing the Lakers 2-0 and still missing Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic.
Indeed, Jimmy Butler had a historic performance in Game 3, posting a 40-point triple-double and leading the Heat to a win. Miami would lose Game 4, but Butler once again helped the Heat stave off elimination in Game 5 with another triple-double in addition to five steals.
The Heat came up just short this season. But Gasol is proud of his âlittle bro,â and understands Miami has a solid foundation with Butler leading the way.
Follow Us
Subscribe