The Miami Heat have by far been the biggest surprise of this NBA season. Even after the worst year in the team’s recent history in 2018 this season was a huge success and it all traces back to the star player Jimmy Butler. During the off season in 2019 Jimmy Butler decided to sign with the Heat after a devastating loss against the Raptors on his former team the 76ers. Many thought that this was a bad move by Jimmy and that his time in South Florida was going to be a waste of time, but he was there to prove them wrong.

With the amazing leadership of Jimmy and his non-selfish play style he has not only played amazing himself but presented opportunities for those around them. A great example of this would be players such as: Bam Adebayo, Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn, and Tyler Herro who were all given amazing opportunities with Jimmy Butler’s team first mentality. He even helped Bam Adebayo get to the All Star game and Duncan Robinson to the 3-point contest.

Throughout the regular season the Heat had their most impressive year since the “Lebron days” while hanging up in the 2-3 seed throughout the entire year. As if the Heat didn’t have enough star power they acquired Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder to make the team complete.

Fast forward to the days of Covid-19 when the NBA season had been revived in the NBA bubble in Orlando, the Heat looked like they were ready to go and finished the year at the five seed and prepared to face off against the Indiana Pacers in the First round of the playoffs. This series went by very fast with a defining 4-0 sweep of the Pacers with nearly no problems at all.

Then came the semi-finals against the 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks with their star player and league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. There was serious doubt against the Miami Heat and their ability to win but once again they amazed not only the NBA but the entire sports world with another defining 4-1 victory against the best team in the NBA. 

The Eastern Conference Finals are sometimes even more competitive than the actual Finals and the Miami Heat had their work cut out for them against the 2-seed Celtics. The Heat struggled against them during the regular season as they lost to them both times they met during the regular season. The Heat, once again, won the series at 4-2. This was obviously not nearly as smooth sailing as the previous two series but the Heat worked through their problems and when they needed it most Jimmy Butler prevailed.

And now the Heat have made it to the Finals against the Lakers and Lebron James himself. This will by far be the biggest challenge for the Heat and Jimmy Butler as they go off in a highly anticipated series against the Lakers where they are (once again) fighting against the odds. Currently the Heat are down 2-1 fighting strong to keep their season alive.