Jimmy Butler, a member of the Miami Heat, made light of Heat great Dwyane Wade at a camp.
Butler spoke to the audience and discussed his past career encounters with Wade. Butler admitted that Wade was very challenging to guard in his heyday while playing for the Chicago Bulls, where they actually spent a season together.
The Heat’s current star, though, didn’t think twice to criticize Wade, who is now retired.
Jimmy Butler at his camp (via his IG):
“Whenever I had to play against D-Wade when I was in Chicago, he was absolutely the hardest person to guard because he was so fast, so strong, so athletic. You couldn’t touch him because he was a superstar.”
“Now he’s old and washed up.”
Butler has continued Wade’s legacy in Miami, leading the team to two NBA Finals appearances and three Eastern Conference Finals appearances over the past four seasons. It is obvious that Butler and Wade get along well.
Wade, who had three championships with the Heat, temporarily joined the Bulls before coming back to Miami to complete his playing career.
Wade averaged 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field during his illustrious NBA career. Wade was chosen for the All-NBA team eight times during the course of his career and won the scoring title in the 2008–09 campaign.
The legendary Heat player was just inducted as a member of the Class of 2023 into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Wade may not be able to compete with Butler as he once could on the court, but he does have three championships and an NBA Finals MVP award, both of which Butler would like.
In the 2005–06 season, the 13-time All-Star defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win his first championship. He was the series’ MVP, averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists over the course of the six games.
Later in his career, Wade teamed up with LeBron James and Chris Bosh, leading the Heat to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and two additional championships.
All of Butler’s criticism of Wade during his playing career is accurate, but the Hall of Famer could disagree with the Heat player’s assessment that Wade is currently “old and washed up.”