"Jimmy goes '1, you're soft'"- Former ROTY recounts Jimmy Butler's bold trash talk to former Bulls HC
Featuring on the Thanalysis Show podcast, former ROTY Michael Carter-Williams recounted Jimmy Butler's bold trash talk to former Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg. Williams recalled a pre-game incident when Butler played for the Bulls in which the six-time NBA All-Star got into an altercation with his team's head coach during the early days of the 2016-17 season.
"Jimmy wasn't getting along with coach Hoiberg, so we had a team meeting early. But last game, the refs were terrible, like Jimmy got a tech, somebody else got a tech, I think even Taj Gibson got tech," Williams said.
"Jimmy was upset that coach Hoiberg ain't get a tech. Coach Hoiberg is like, 'Jimmy, this starts with me and you, like, what's going on?'," Williams continued.
"And then Jimmy goes, 'Well one, I think you're soft. Two, I don't like you,' and he didn't even get to three and coach Hoiberg was like, 'Well then f**k you, Jimmy'."
Jimmy Butler is known for his aggressive and competitive personality when it comes to the league, and the 2016–17 Bulls incident was just one of many that were to follow.
Heat president says Jimmy Butler should've kept his "mouth shut" about playoff series against Celtics in 2024
Jimmy Butler had an array of trash talk for the Boston Celtics during and after their first-round playoff series this season. He also targeted the New York Knicks after the Heat got eliminated by the Celtics in five games.
When asked about Butler's comments in an interview, Heat president Pat Riley reprimanded his star player for his actions.
"For him to say that, I thought, 'is that Jimmy trolling? Or is that Jimmy serious?'" Riley said. "If you're not on the court playing against Boston, or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut."
Jimmy Butler was sidelined for the Miami Heat's first-round playoff series against the Celtics after he sprained his knee in the Play-In Tournament. Despite his absence, the Heat clinched a surprise Game 2 win against the Celtics, which led to Butler taking to Instagram to troll the Celtics for their loss.
Furthermore, during an in-game interview in Game 3, Butler criticized the media for not giving Miami enough credit and said that the Heat were going to win the game as well as the series.
"I think we believe," Butler told TNT. "It's everybody else that don't. If I gotta hear one more praise about Boston on national TV when we win a game, I'm tired of hearing that man. It's 1-1. We gonna go up 2-1. See ya later, peace!"
The 6X NBA All-Star also claimed that the Miami Heat would've clinched the first-round series as well as the conference semifinals series against the New York Knicks if he had been available to play.