NBA news: Gabe Vincent may have already taken his talents out West this summer, but his remarkable season with the Miami Heat is something that will stick with him for the rest of his career. The new Los Angeles Lakers recruit was an integral part of Miami’s incredible run to the NBA Finals, which also included a stunning first-round victory over the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA News: Gabe Vincent Details How Jimmy Butler ‘Went Bananas’ On Jrue Holiday
Apr 24, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) brings the ball up the court as Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) defends in the first quarter during game four of the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports (NBA News)
Vincent remembers that series well. In particular, Miami’s epic come-from-behind victory in Game 5 was memorable for him, to say the least.
Jimmy Butler had more than a few eye-opening performances in the playoffs, but his heroics in their series-clinching Game 5 win over the Bucks was one for the books.
“Now we got this three-headed monster over there to deal with,” Vincent recalled in a recent episode of The Old Man & The Three podcast with JJ Redick. “And Jimmy was Jimmy in the truest fashion. He was talking s**t. And we’re down ten points with like 5 minutes left.
“He’s talking crazy to Jrue (Holiday). And I’m like, Jimmy, this game is not over. He just started getting into that mode that we all love when he gets into it”
Redick then expressed how he felt bad for Jrue Holiday at that moment because of how the Bucks pretty much left him on an island against Butler. Holiday is indeed one of the top defenders in the NBA, but even he could not stop Butler’s offensive eruption.
Jimmy went bananas,” Vincent said. “I don’t even know how else to put it. But Jrue is, I think, if not the best, one of the best defenders in our game. And you all know the same. Better offenses beats better defense. Like, great defense going to get you so far. I think when Jimmy just kind of got rolling.”
NBA News: Jimmy Butler Was Miami’s Driving Force In Memorable Historic Run
Mjs Bucks16 5 Jpg Bucks16 (NBA News)
Ultimately, the Heat lost out to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. However, there’s no way you can discredit Butler for what turned out to be one of the most iconic individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA.
Vincent cited Butler’s performance in the first round against the Bucks as one of the defining moments of the Heat’s epic title run. Butler was the driving force behind it all:
I think he kind of just propelled us and gave guys like me a whole lot of confidence in those moments,” Vincent said. “And I think everyone saw us celebrate after we won that game five and I think that was more so of like, okay, we can actually make a run at this thing. It was awesome. They just gave the whole team a lot of life.”
Vincent himself has to thank Butler for helping him reach new heights. Had it not been for Jimmy, Vincent would not have been able to showcase his talents in the playoffs. To some extent, Vincent’s $33 million deal with the Lakers has Butler’s fingerprints all over it.
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