Heat forward Jimmy Butler and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau are seemingly feuding after Butler called out his former head coach for being in a one-sided relationship with him.
"I love Thibs but I don't want him. Thibs, I love you, baby! But I want to beat you, to a pulp. You want me, I don't want you. It's like a one-sided relationship. You are in love with me and I love you, but I'm not in love with you."
Tibideau has responded in classic Thibs fashion, pretending like he doesn't know who Butler is before turning his threat back onto him.
"Who? I don’t know him. But I will beat him to a pulp.”
Butler's larger quote was him saying that the Knicks and Celtics would both be home if he was healthy, laughing at the idea of Josh Hart stopping him.
“If I was playing, Boston would be at home, New York damn sure would be at home," said Butler. "Josh Hart? C’mon, man.”
Butler and Thibodeau are clearly joking as the pair share a great relationship given their former experiences. Thibodeau was Butler's first coach in the NBA on the Chicago Bulls before also coaching Butler at his next stop on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
While their relationship ended in 2018 after 10 games with the Wolves as Butler was traded and Thibs was later fired, it's easy to see how Thibs' personality has shaped the player we know Butler to be. It isn't easy to withstand the aggressive style of coaching the Knicks head coach deploys but Butler thrived under it and blossomed into an NBA star.
Jimmy Butler And Tom Thibodeau Have A Love-Hate Relationship
Few player-coach relationships in the NBA are as linked as Thibodeau and Butler. One of the biggest talk points of the 2023 playoff matchup between the Heat and the Knicks was the fact that Butler was going up against Thibodeau once again. Butler even described their relationship as a love-hate one after they spent the summer of 2016 together winning a Gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
“It’s a moment, man. As much stuff (as we went through), as much of a love-hate relationship as we had and still have, it’s big. He was always telling me I could be a special player after my rookie season (when) he thought I was terrible, of course. But I’ve got love for Thibs, a lot of love for Thibs.”
Thibodeau would be the one to bring Butler to the Timberwolves in 2016 as the forward led the franchise to their first playoff appearance since Kevin Garnett was on the franchise, with Thibs as coach and President. But Butler objected to the heavy workload Thibodeau gave him, as the coach is notorious for taxing his preferred players.
Butler would force Thibodeau to trade him to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018 in a messy saga which led to Jimmy's infamous practice beatdown on Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
Despite the waves, the relationship between Butler and Thibodeau has remained cordial. This relationship has to be kept in mind as Butler enters free agency and could angle for sign-and-trades away from the Heat.
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