Jimmy Butler is a bit of a renaissance man. He branched outside of his basketball world by opening his “Big Face Coffee” shop in the Orlando bubble last season, cleverly charging his fellow players $20 per cup knowing how limited their other options were. If he was planning to launch an acting career as his next off-court venture, though, he might want to stick with his day job.
In the closing seconds of a tight victory over the New York Knicks, Butler was fouled off of the ball by Julius Randle. In a desperate attempt to have the call upgraded into a flagrant foul, Butler rolled around on the floor in apparent pain. The problem? He couldn’t help himself from peeking out to see how the officials were reacting. A thespian, Butler is not.
Unsurprisingly, the incident was deemed a common foul. Butler got up, brushed it off, and made one of his two free throw attempts. RJ Barrett missed his game-tying layup attempt, and the Heat walked away with a 98-96 victory. Butler’s act, in the end, had no impact on the outcome.
But, hey, it never hurts to test drive some of your post-career ambitions while you’re still on the floor. Maybe Butler wants to be a movie star when he’s ready to hang up his sneakers. If that’s the plan, though, he’s going to need one heck of an acting coach. This performance predictably fooled no one.
