The Miami Heat avoided the worst collapse in NBA playoff history with an inspired performance in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night, but Jimmy Butler was not in much of a mood to celebrate the blowout victory.
Butler was interviewed on the court at TD Garden after he helped lead the Heat to a win over the Boston Celtics, who had come back from down 3-0 to force a Game 7. Butler was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP, but that wasn’t enough to make him smile.
After TNT’s Ernie Johnson conducted his interviews with the Heat, Bam Adebayo offered Butler the Eastern Conference championship trophy. Butler shook his head and told Adebayo, “I’ll hold the next one.”
Butler is known for being one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA. He truly cares about winning, which is why he’s easy to root for. It is no surprise he would refuse to hold anything other than the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Butler was nearly beat out by a teammate for the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award, but we highly doubt he cares about that either. He has four more wins on his mind.
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