Jimmy Butler Opens Up on Miami Heat’s Painful NBA Finals Loss

• Jimmy Butler has praised his Miami Heat teammates days after they lost the 2023 NBA Finals to the Denver Nuggets
• The Heat lost the finals in five games after a memorable postseason run
• Butler and the Heat became the first play-in team to reach the NBA Finals

Jimmy Butler is proud of his Miami Heat teammates after they lost the 2023 NBA Finals to the Denver Nuggets last week.

The Heat's fairytale postseason ended after they lost Game 5 to the Nuggets 94-89 on June 13.

Overall, the Heat had a phenomenal postseason. They stunned favorites and top-seed Milwaukee Bucks in five games in Round 1. Butler was sensational in that series after averaging 37.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.

They almost blew a 3-0 lead in the conference finals again the Boston Celtics, but destroyed the 17-time NBA champions in Game 7 to book their spot in the finals.

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Butler regressed in the finals as Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray blew the Heat away. He averaged 21.6 points on 41 percent shooting against the Nuggets.

Butler lauds Heat players

While on holiday, the 33-year-old recorded a video praising the Heat players for their performances, asking them to focus on the journey.

"Hella proud of our guys this year. As we always try to achieve our goals, I think it's very important not to lose sight of the journey."

The Heat were the only team to reach the NBA Finals as the second seed after the New York Knicks in 1999. They showed incredible resilience going from the play-in tournament to the NBA finals.

Butler had no excuses after losing to the Nuggets. Some felt he was playing with an injured ankle, but he refuted those claims.

"Zero. My ankle is fine. We just didn't win," Butler said. "There's no excuse. They beat us. That's all I got," he said, via SI.

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Butler welcomes Messi

Sports Brief earlier reported on Butler welcoming Lionel Messi to Miami after news broke that the ex-Barcelona superstar will be joining Inter Miami.

"He is one of the greatest players to play that beautiful game. I’m so excited for the city of Miami, to be able to have a player of that caliber here..."

The news of Messi's move to Miami was wildly popular online, and several NBA stars welcomed arguably the best sportsman of all time to America.