The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904, and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have now won 17 gold medals in the 20 tournaments they have participated in during the past 88 years, while the women have won 10 gold medals in the 12 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 48 years. While we must wait 3 years until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will fill the void by interviewing as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible. We continue our coverage by chatting with Kevin Danna (play-by-play announcer for the Santa Cruz Warriors/Golden State Valkyries) about Jimmy Butler’s time in the Bay Area and the gold medal he won in 2016.
Jimmy played for Team USA at the 2016 Olympics: what did it mean to him to represent his country, and what did it mean to him to win a gold medal? I would imagine that it was not even on his radar a few years earlier when he was in junior college.
In a 3-PT win over the Lakers in Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals with Miami, he became the 1st player to ever have 35+ PTS/10+ REB/10+ AST/5+ STL in a Finals game: how is he able to play his best when it matters the most? He has a sense for the moment and knows what his team needs from him. He does not need to score 40 PTS every night if other guys have it rolling: he can find other ways to contribute to winning. As far as performance by a player in the Finals who did not win the series, that 1 is right up there. He knew it was time to go to work because they were down 3-1 in the series. There is a famous photo of him keeled over after giving it all he had.
In 2021 he led the league in STL, and in January of 2023 he made all 23 of his FTs in a 1-PT win over Oklahoma City (tying Dominique Wilkins for the 2nd-most FTM without a miss in NBA history): what makes him such a great defender, and what makes him such a great FT shooter? He does a great job of getting to the line. Golden State was near the bottom of the league in FTA before he arrived, but he is a vet who knows how to get fouled and put defenders in compromising positions. Going back to his Chicago days, he began his NBA career as a defensive specialist. It goes back to his high IQ and his ability to play hard on defense: those 2 things will make you above-average.
He made the NBA Finals twice during his 1st 4 years in Miami: how much of his motivation for joining Golden State last February is based on trying to win his 1st ring? I do not know for sure…but I know that he wants to win a title so I think it played a role in wanting to join the Warriors and find a home here. Being surrounded by guys who have won a ring before and know what it takes also went into it.
He has played for 5 teams in the past 8 years and last January he was suspended 7 games by Miami for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season”: have you found him to be a good team player? I have been around him on the road a little bit and he appears to be a good team player who has fit in seamlessly. The team has won a lot of games since he arrived, and even the equipment guys enjoy being around him.
Last March he recorded his 1st triple-double with the Warriors (the 18th of his career): how is he able to balance all the different aspects of his game? It goes back to that Game 5 in 2020: he has a great sense of what his team needs that night. If the opponent is making a push then he will slow the game down and get to the FT line or find open shooters.
Last spring in the playoffs the Warriors beat Houston on the road in Game 7 before losing to Minnesota in 5 games: has it reached a point in the Bay Area where anything less than a title is a failure, or do you consider their postseason run to have been a success? Obviously the standard here is winning titles, but I was fine with them making the 2nd round, especially considering that Steph Curry got hurt in Game 1. This year they want to make the top-6 and avoid the play-in: if you can build yourself some wiggle room then you do not have to go all-out for every single regular season game. If you can get to the 2nd round, then that puts you in the top 75th percentile of the league: you cannot be super-disappointed in that from the outside looking in, especially in the Western Conference.
He has only played more than 67 games twice during his 1st 14 seasons: how does his health appear to be doing this year after turning 36 last September? He strained his lower back earlier this month and it flared up on him. “Load management” started to become a thing in the mid-2010s when the Spurs were handling the end of the Tim Duncan/Manu Ginobili/Tony Parker run, so I wonder whether Jimmy was injured or just getting some rest. There are only a handful of players like Mikal Bridges/Kevon Looney who play all 82 games during a season, so even if you are playing 65+ I consider that a healthy season.
In addition to all his on-court success, he has appeared in multiple music videos, launched his own coffee brand, was featured in a Netflix basketball documentary series, and joined San Diego Wave FC’s investor group: how is he able to remain focused on basketball with all of these off-court interests? Even if you are working out each day, can you really do that more than 3-4 hours/day during an 82-game season? You will just wear yourself down. Teams do not practice a lot during the season since it is a grind and it takes a toll on everyone’s body. Steph does a lot of things with his wife Ayesha, and Anthony Edwards was great in the movie “Hustle”. I work multiple jobs and so does Jimmy: our generation is more fragmented these days so we are used to putting multiple things together rather than just have a single 9-5 job. During the NBA season I work for an NBA team, a G-League team, and a women’s college team. I remember seeing “Office Christmas Party” for my 30th birthday, and Jimmy had a cameo in it!
He is a 6-time All-Star and a 5-time All-Defensive Team member: do you think he will end up in the Hall of Fame or the Hall of Very Good? I think he has had a Hall of Fame career. There is no minimum bar that I am aware of, and I think he has done enough and had so many memorable moments. He dragged some of those Miami teams to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat had some other stars like Bam Adebayo/Tyler Herro, but even though Jimmy does not have a ring he is still a “winner”.
