LeBron James and his first-seeded Los Angeles Lakers just concluded a 4-2 series win over the unlikely Eastern Conference Champions, the fifth-seeded Miami Heat. The gritty and energetic Heat team was obviously starred by Jimmy Butler.
However it was flanked by sharpshooters Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, veteran point guard and former All-Star Goran Dragic, and 2020 All-Star and Most Improved Player candidate Bam Adebayo.
Overall, the 2020 NBA Finals was just a set of six games out of the forty times that Butler and James went head-to-head against each other in the regular season and the Playoffs. So far, The King has come out on top twenty-one times, an almost even split with Butler. It is actually Butler who prevails over James in the regular season, winning fourteen games to James' nine, while the latter has a 12-5 record against the former in the postseason.
LeBron James and Jimmy Butler had a great many head-to-head matchups, with LeBron's rule over the Eastern Conference with the Heat and the Cavaliers coinciding with Butler's seven years playing for the Bulls in the Windy City. There has been quite a bit of bad blood between the two, from simple trash-talk to getting into frequent scuffles on the court to simple back-to-baskets against each other to will their respective teams to victory.
With all of that being the case, and it likely continuing this way in the future, we're looking at the very best LeBron James vs Jimmy Butler matchups. We considered the box scores of both players for each game, as well as the stakes of the matchup (close regular season game, Playoff game, Finals game, etc.), to determine which of the duels turned out to be the greatest one.
5.) Heat at Bulls, (Mar. 09, 2014)
Final Score: Miami Heat – 88, Chicago Bulls – 95 (OT)
LeBron James: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists
Jimmy Butler: 16 points, 11 rebounds
This matchup between LeBron James and Jimmy Butler took place way back in the former's last season for the Miami Heat, and the latter's last season before breaking out in the next year. By then, Butler was looked at as a third-year defensive stopper (eventually getting his first All-Defensive Second Team honors that season) with an unpolished offensive game. Moreover, the Bulls' talisman at the time being former MVP Derrick Rose. People can look back at this game, however, as the start of the bad blood between Butler and James on the court.
The game was a scrappy affair, as can be seen in the low scoring of both teams. More than this, however, James and Butler can be seen getting physical with one another, with Butler jostling James while the latter was appealing for a foul on D.J. Augustin after an alley-oop. The two would end up almost coming to blows in the ground after James collided and got in a tangle with Butler after catching an outlet pass, both of them receiving technical fouls for their troubles.
Butler's lockdown defense, helped by former All-Star and eventual Defensive Player of the Year Joachim Noah, frustrated James all day and kept him to only 4 points by the middle of the third quarter. It was also at this point that the two started their duel, with Butler nailing a highly contested three against James, and James putting his head down on Butler and scoring off a drive at the other end.
The game went to overtime after a potential game-winning lay-up from James was prevented with a clutch steal from Butler, keeping the score at 86 apiece. Butler would score 4 of the Bulls' 9 points in OT, and would eventually get the W.
This event showcased Butler's defensive intensity, as well as foreshadow the grit and doggedness that each duel between Butler and James would be known for.
4.) Bulls at Cavaliers, ECS (May 12, 2015)
Final Score: Chicago Bulls – 101, Cleveland Cavaliers – 106
Jimmy Butler: 29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
LeBron James: 38 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists
Fast-forward to the 2015 season: Jimmy Butler just got his very first All-Star berth and his second All-Defensive Second Team honors, as well as being named the '14-'15 Most Improved Player. LeBron James, meanwhile, just concluded a sweep against the rebuilding Boston Celtics in his first season back in Cleveland, clinching the second seed beforehand.
The Cavaliers and the Bulls met at the Conference Semifinals, with the Cavs losing Kevin Love in the previous series due to injury. The series started off roughly for James' Cavaliers, with the Bulls gaining a 2-1 series lead after Derrick Rose's iconic fadeaway three-pointer off the backboard downed the Cavs in a close Game 3. Come Game 4, however, James returned the favor, getting the W for the Cavaliers after sinking a jumper from an inbounds pass with 0.8 seconds on the clock. Game 5 in the QuickenLoans became a vital one for both teams, as a 3-2 series lead was on the line.
From the get-go, James looked unstoppable in Cleveland, making 10-12 baskets in the first half. The King had his way with whoever was guarding him. Butler had a game himself too, leading his team in scoring with 29 points. James, though, was all over the court making plays for himself and his teammates. He was simply too much to contain, and the Cavs eventually led by as much as 17 points in the 4th quarter.
Eventually the Bulls rallied and closed the gap to only two points. Ultimately, Butler would miss a crucial three-pointer that would have given the Bulls a one-point lead; fouls and free throws ensued, and the Cavaliers held on to win and get the 3-2 series advantage at the back of King James' dominant performance. The Cavs would go on to win Game 6, holding Butler's Bulls to only 73 points the entire game.
3.) Lakers at Heat, NBA Finals (Oct. 04, 2020)
Final Score: Los Angeles Lakers – 104, Miami Heat 115
LeBron James: 25 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists
Jimmy Butler: 40 points (Playoff career-high), 11 rebounds, 13 assists
Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals will be known as the Jimmy Butler show.
At the time, the Heat already had their backs against the wall, with the Lakers leading them 2-0 in the series. Worse still, they did not have the services of their starting point guard, Goran Dragic, who they lost to injury in the Game 1 of the Finals. Dragic, prior to the Finals, led them in scoring with 20.9 points; they effectively lost 21 points due to his injury.
To add, their other All-Star, Bam Adebayo, was just returning from injury due to an injury he also sustained in Game 1. He led Miami in rebounds and was one of their focal points in offence, as well as the Heat's only rim protector against LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Jimmy Butler had to step up massively in order to keep his team afloat and keep the series competitive. To say that he did so is a massive understatement.
Butler went off to put up Playoff career-highs 40 points and 13 assists, to go along with 11 rebounds. James, meanwhile, had a great game himself, with a 25-10 double-double. It was his counterpart in the Miami Heat, however, who undoubtedly came out on top. This is solidified by the fact that in the more than 50 NBA Finals games that LeBron James has played in, no player (in his team or the opposing team) other than Jimmy Butler has bested him in points, rebounds, and assists, all in one game.
Game 3 was capped of by Jimmy Butler telling LeBron James, “You're in trouble,” after icing the game with a lay-up to put the Heat 9 points ahead with just a minute to go. An absolutely heroic performance for Jimmy G. Buckets, a nickname he lived up to in this well-earned win.
2.) Timberwolves at Cavaliers, (Feb. 07, 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRIRR6Or0s
Final Score: Minnesota Timberwolves – 138, Cleveland Cavaliers – 140 (OT)
Jimmy Butler: 35 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists
LeBron James: 37 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assists
Both players, coming into this Regular Season game, were with relatively new surroundings and circumstances. This was Jimmy Butler's first season in Minnesota, now established as one of the best perimeter defenders and two-way players in the league. He was looked at as the missing piece to take former number 1 picks Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins across the hump.
LeBron James, meanwhile, was surrounded with new teammates Derrick Rose, Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and former partner-in-crime Dwyane Wade, months after the infamous Kyrie Irving trade took place and shook the Cleveland Cavaliers roster up. Despite the changes, Butler and James went at each other as usual, creating iconic moments and making a game to remember in the process
This game would truly be the precursor for their 2020 NBA Finals showdown. Like what happened in the Orlando bubble, Butler and James were taking and making shots from everywhere on the court. Butler was wreaking havoc from the midrange, while James was attacking the paint and throwing outlet passes and kick-outs to a hot-handed J.R. Smith.
Like most of their matchups, this game went down the wire, with both teams being unable to establish a commanding lead. They went to overtime, after James missed an isolation three against Butler. OT brought out score-first mentalities in both men, with Butler and James exchanging tough, highly-contested three-pointers at one point.
The game was ultimately decided by two pivotal plays. The first was Butler's set play with six seconds on the clock. Cedi Osman was switched to Butler, who was being guarded by James prior to the pick. As Butler drove to the rim and put up the shot, James came out of nowhere to block the potential game winner, with Smith grabbing the rebound and calling a timeout with one second to go.
The Cavaliers decided to inbound the ball from their half, with Jeff Green to throw the rock to LeBron James with Jimmy Butler on him. The ensuing play was reminiscent of Christian Laettner's “The Shot”, with James receiving the (almost) full court pass just behind the charity stripe, turning around, and fading away to sink the game-winning buzzer-beater in Butler's face. Two iconic plays from James in a span of a few seconds; two iconic moments added to the King's storied career, these ones at the expense of Butler and his Timberwolves.
1.) Heat at Lakers, NBA Finals (Oct. 09, 2020)
Final Score: Miami Heat – 111, Los Angeles Lakers – 108
Jimmy Butler: 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists
LeBron James: 40 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists
Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals was a win-or-go-home game for Jimmy Butler's Miami Heat. For LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers, they wereone win away from the franchise's 17th Championship to tie the Boston Celtics. The matchup between the two forwards had all the potential, and they delivered.
The two had a Game 5 to remember, with James having his best scoring game of the 2020 Playoffs with 40 points, to go along with 13 rebounds and 7 assists. Butler, on the other hand, had his second triple-double of the Finals with a 35-12-11 stat line. The two went at each other; both James and Butler having their way with their defenders from all three areas (the paint, the midrange, and the three-point line).
They were making all sorts of shots, with Butler hitting an off-balance fadeaway three to end the first half, and LeBron nailing a shot from the Finals logo to close the gap to only one point in the third quarter. Even with their huge scoring outputs, the two were focused on playmaking for their teammates as well, with both looking to get their shooters involved; this meant that they barely went directly head to head until the final moments of the game.
In these final moments, however, it was all Butler and James. This was expressed brilliantly by Mike Breen in commentary, when he expressed how James and Butler were indeed “throwing haymakers at each other.”
Both of them either barreling towards the paint to score or draw fouls, or taking (and making) contested midrange jumpers. In the end, it came down to Butler drawing a foul in a drive against Markieff Morris in the 0:46 mark of the 4th, which gave the Heat a one-point advantage. This produced the iconic photo of Jimmy Butler leaning on the advertiser's board, exhausted from playing 47 out of a possible 48 minutes that game.
It was then up to James at the other end of the floor to respond accordingly. He attacked the basket after a screen from Danny Green, who received the ball after a kick out from James for the wide open three. Green, unfortunately, would miss the uncontested potential game-winner. The aforementioned Morris got the rebound, but would ultimately commit a turnover after a wayward inside pass to Anthony Davis. This resulted to fouls and free throws, and ultimately the all-important Game 5 win, for Butler and the Heat. This marked the first loss for James and the Lakers while sporting the Black Mamba-inspired jersey.
Undoubtedly, this game produced the greatest head-to-head matchup between Butler and James. They were both statistically excellent, the stakes were as high as can be, and the clutch factor between the two sealed the deal. Both were offensively great, dogged defensively, and made shots and plays from everywhere on the court.
It's a shame that other factors might keep people from remembering this game as the spectacular duel between Jimmy Butler and LeBron James that it was.
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