Jimmy Butler left the 76ers this summer after being traded there last season and playing 55 games with the team.
In his time there, he hit three game winning shots, was their second leading scorer in the postseason averaging 19.4 points per game and was their lead ball handler when things got tight in the fourth quarter down the stretch.
All that still gets you booed in Philadelphia.
Butler returned to the Wells Fargo Center with the Miami Heat for a matchup against the Sixers tonight and, when he was introduced as part of the Heat’s starting lineup, the crowd booed him to no end.
Butler’s time in Philadelphia was mostly positive after a bit of a rough start and they were just one game away from the Conference Finals and could’ve made it had the ball bounced the wrong way on Kawhi Leonard’s last jumper that sealed the deal against them.
Butler’s decision looks just fine right now. The Heat are sitting at 11-3 in the Eastern Conference and are just a half game back on the MIlwaukee Bucks for first place. On the other hand, the Sixers are sitting at 5th in the conference with a 10-5 record and are 1.5 games back on Butler’s Heat.
Maybe that gives them even more reason to boo despite the great run Butler had in Philly. What the Sixers had going with Butler was great while it lasted, but that doesn’t matter to Sixers fans.
You’re either with them or you’re against them. As wild as that sounds, you’ve got to respect it.
