Jimmy Butler’s skills have received praise in the playoffs. His resilience and ability to make difficult shots have earned him the nickname ‘Himmy Buckets.’
However, there is one skill possessed by the Miami Heat star that we were not aware of – clairvoyance. According to tennis player and Heat supporter Coco Gauff, Butler is either highly skilled at foreseeing the future or simply very self-assured.
Prior to the French Open, Gauff suggested that she had a humorous tale involving Butler, but she chose to keep it to herself in order to avoid any potential bad luck.
But, following her win in the initial round at Roland Garros on Tuesday and, more significantly, the Heat’s impressive triumph in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics to secure their spot in the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets, Gauff revealed she was now prepared to share her story.
Gauff, who said she didn’t watch Game 7 as it was on in the middle of the night before her first round match but was “very relieved” to see the result, explained that before the playoffs, Butler reached out to her to offer her tickets for the final home game of the season in April, before contacting her a few weeks later offering her tickets for the postseason.
“I stated, ‘I will not be present here. I will be traveling to Madrid, then Rome, and finally France,'” Gauff informed the press.
“And then he said: ‘OK, when we make the Finals, let me know if your family wants some tickets.’ So this was before [the Heat] were even in the playoffs.
Before our first Play-In game against the Hawks, there was talk that our chances of making the Finals were only 3%. However, when he sent me that message, I was confident that we would make it because he didn’t say “if,” he said “when.” Now that we have reached the Finals, I can share this story.
“I recall taking a screenshot of it and sharing it with my family, exclaiming, ‘We’re going to the Finals!'”
The 19-year-old was inspired by Butler’s confidence and stated, “I admire his mindset.”
Gauff shared that she found inspiration in the Heat’s determination during Game 7, despite initially losing a 3-0 lead to the Celtics in the series. Ultimately, the Heat emerged victorious.
“I made a promise to myself today that if Jimmy Butler didn’t panic when the score was 3-0 and then tied up at 3-3, then I shouldn’t panic after losing the first set,” Gauff stated during her on-court interview following her comeback victory over Rebeka Masarova.
Butler has been crucial in leading the 8th seeded Heat to the NBA Finals, defeating the 1st seeded Milwaukee Bucks, the 5th seeded New York Knicks, and most recently the 2nd seeded Celtics in their miraculous run.
The start of the NBA Finals is on Thursday in Denver.
Source: cnn.com
