Jimmy Butler is kind of Renaissance. He distanced himself from his basketball world by opening his “Big Face Coffee” store in the Orlando bubble last season, deftly charging his fellow players $ 20 a cup, knowing how limited his other options were. If he was planning to start an acting career as his next off-court venture, however, he might want to continue with his day job.
In the final seconds of a tight victory over the New York Knicks, Butler was sidelined by Julius Randle. In a desperate attempt to update the call to a flagrant foul, Butler rolled on the floor in apparent pain. The problem? He couldn’t help but spy to see how the employees were reacting. A dramatic actor, Butler is not.
Unsurprisingly, the incident was considered a common fault. Butler got up, ignored it and made one of his two free-throw attempts. RJ Barrett lost his layup attempt, and the Heat left with a 98-96 victory. Butler’s act, in the end, had no impact on the outcome.
But, hey, it never hurts to test some of your post-career ambitions while you’re still on the ground. Maybe Butler wants to be a movie star when he’s ready to hang up his sneakers. If that is the plan, however, he will need a tremendous acting coach. This performance predictably did not fool anyone.