Pat Riley vindicated for not paying Jimmy Butler

Pat Riley received a lot of flak when he publicly expressed his unwillingness to pay Jimmy Butler max dollars. Some called him senile and out of touch for burning bridges with the player who led the Heat to two NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023.

Riley has every reason to feel vindicated after watching Butler underwhelm in the 2025 NBA playoffs. 

In five games against the Timberwolves, Butler put up his usual counting stats of 20.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists, but failed to live up to his "Playoff Jimmy" moniker in pivotal moments. In the fourth quarter, he shot a horrendous 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from the field to finish as a -18 on the floor. 

Butler could also not galvanize the Warriors on the defensive end, as Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels regularly blew past him. As the primary defender, he allowed McDaniels to shoot 70 percent from the field, Edwards 69.2 percent and Julius Randle 53.8 percent. 

With Stephen Curry sidelined from Games 2-5, the onus was on Butler to carry the Warriors. He underwhelmed, proving Riley right for not overpaying a player who turns 36 this September. Many fans took to social media to call Butler "overrated" and "washed" and a shell of the player who was once feared in the playoffs.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr still praised Butler for giving his team a puncher's chance in the second half of the season. The Warriors went 20-6 with Butler in the lineup after the All-Star break, a hot run that allowed them to secure the No. 7 seed. Ultimately, Butler's heroics were insufficient to bail out the aging Warriors.