Dwyane Wade's praise of Miami culture convinced Jimmy Butler to join Heat

Jimmy Butler is on the verge of leading the Heat to the NBA Finals, and in his first season with the team, Butler's intense mentality has been a perfect fit with Miami's culture. According to Bernie Lee, Butler's agent, he had been considering joining the Heat ever since teaming up with Dwyane Wade in Chicago during the 2016-17 season.

Lee said that Wade spoke to Butler about not fully appreciating Miami's winning culture until he left and the comments seemed to resonate with Butler. In discussing which teams he might join, Butler was always focused on the Heat but not for the weather or beautiful beaches; he was solely focused on being part of an organization that has won three championships this century.

"We never once spoke about Miami as a city," Lee told Zach Lowe. "Obviously, it's an amazing place with amazing people, but Jimmy wasn't going there for the beach. Since he's gotten there, I think we have gone out to eat less than 10 times and one of them was the Super Bowl. We didn't even talk about the tax advantages. The only questions he asked were of the background of the people involved and how they would build out the team."

It appears that Butler was right to take Wade's words to heart, as he has turned the Heat into one of the most exciting teams in the league and they are just three wins away from the franchise's first Finals appearance since LeBron James left.