Last season had become a period of deep sorrow for Jimmy Butler.
Little did we know, the Miami Heat star was grieving over the death of his father who passed away in February. The wingman shared on Netflix's "Starting 5" episodes five and six.
Playoff Push Became Harder For Buckets
A personal tragedy fell into Butler's life during this playoff push: Butler's father died at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, according to AUCH.
Just ahead of his father's death, Butler drove to visit his dad on Feb. 7 and made sure his dad could watch the Miami Heat play the Spurs with some help fixing the television set in his hospital room.
That night Butler had his first triple-double of the season with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. For all this, the emotional burden of his father's condition overhung the evening.
He returned to his father's bedside after the game, carrying with him the shoes in which he had played that day, signed and dated.
In his final inquiries before leaving, Butler asked a young doctor whether his father would survive until he came back from a wedding: the response was non-committal. Tragically, within hours, Butler received a text from his agent, Bernie Lee.
"I was like, 'Nobody ever texts me when I'm in the air, 'Have I landed yet?'," Butler said. "So that's when I knew my dad had passed. It's crazy that that triple-double was the last game that my dad was alive," he said.
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Struggling to Perform After Father's Death
His loss was palpable. Over the last few weeks of the pre-All-Star break season, Butler appeared to lose interest in basketball. His shortcomings were evident in his play.
Despite his reputation of being able to flip the switch into "playoff mode," Butler found it tough to bring his A-game in the closing weeks of the season.
In March, Butler told Bleacher Report that he could become "the greatest basketball player in the world all of a sudden," but his true emotions were revealed when he confessed to Starting 5, saying, "I couldn't care less about basketball right now.". I don't care... It hurts to lose. It hurts to lose people."
How Loss Affected His Game
Butler didn't have another triple-double the rest of the year after the Spurs game. He hit above 30 points only two times in the last 24 games. The Heat went into a play-in tournament, and Butler sprained his MCL, keeping him sidelined for the first-round loss to the Boston Celtics.
People around the world experienced great sympathy for the news of Butler's dad's passing, SI finds.
"The real world is so much bigger than sports. Fans take it too far, we need to do better," @TheGleef posted on X.
"This is why people, INCLUDING Heat fans, should not get pissed when someone is out with personal reasons. Everyone, it's bigger than basketball," @Demar305, another X user tweeted.
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