Is Jimmy Butler Nostradamus? It’s a valid question at this point.
The Heat star led his team to the 2023 NBA Finals after calmly predicting that Miami would beat the Celtics on the road in Game 7 at the TD Garden. He had previously vowed to get the Heat to the finals after failing to do so at Boston’s hands in 2022, so that victory actually made good on two promises.
Coco Gauff wasn’t surprised by the Heat’s victory. According to her, it serves as just one example of Butler’s brazen confidence.
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Speaking with reporters following her opening round French Open win vs. Rebeka Masarova, Gauff lauded the Eastern Conference Finals MVP for his mental fortitude. And she revealed that she tapped into Butler’s intense persona while facing off with Masarova, overcoming an opening-set defeat to cruise to victory, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“Honestly, today, I told myself if Jimmy Butler didn’t freak out when they were up 3-0 and all of a sudden it’s 3-all, then I shouldn’t freak out after losing the first set,” Gauff said.
Gauff would have good insight into Butler’s headspace. The tennis star from Florida has become friendly with him since her breakout win over Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2019.
And Gauff says Butler’s unwavering belief in himself and his team isn’t just an act. The burgeoning tennis star has the DMs to prove it.
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Gauff told reporters that Butler offered her family tickets to the playoffs. She declined, saying that she would be in Europe for much of the postseason as she looks for his first career major at Rolland Garros.
Butler was respectful and told Gauff that he could get her tickets to a game at a later date — during the NBA Finals.
“He said, ‘OK, when we make the Finals, let me know if your family wants some tickets,'” Gauff said of Butler. “So, this was before we were even in the playoffs. This is before we lost to the Hawks for the first play-in game. … But when he sent me that, I knew we were making the Finals because he didn’t say, ‘if we make the Finals;’ he said, ‘when we make the Finals.'”
Jimmy Butler asked Coco Gauff if she wanted #NBAFinals tickets BEFORE the play-in tournament. pic.twitter.com/zUWlrESPzX
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) May 30, 2023
Butler and the Heat have vanquished a who’s who of Eastern Conference stalwarts to challenge for the title. Still, it’s stories like this that cement his legacy as one of the game’s greatest talents.
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And it’s a reason why Gauff, like much of the sports world, flocks to the two-way superstar.
“I remember screenshotting it and sending it to my family and I was, like, ‘Oh, we’re going, we’re going to the Finals,'” Gauff said.
“He pretty much said [the Heat] were going to the Finals before [Miami] even qualified for the playoffs, and I just really like that mentality of him.”