8 seed to win the championship as they lost a five-game series to the Denver Nuggets 94-89 on Monday night.
He played through an ankle injury that he suffered in Game 1 of the second round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks.
En route to the Finals, his confidence never wavered as the Boston Celtics rallied from down 0-3 to force a Game 7.
He had played the first six years of his career as a member of the Chicago Bulls, where he earned his first three All-Star nods.
After the championship loss to the Nuggets, where Butler led his team with 21 points, he was distant in the post-game press conference, looking toward the ceiling while Kyle Lowry answered the first question.
“You never know what the team is going to look like next year, the year after that,” he said.
“We were led by one of the best basketball players on this earth, and he instilled confidence in us,” he said.
The Heat featured three undrafted players in their starting lineup in the postseason after starting guard Tyler Herro hurt his hand in the first game of the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks.
He finished Monday night’s game with 20 points and 12 rebounds and was the Heat’s leading scorer in Game 1 when Butler was 6-of-14 in field goals for 13 points.
So for me, it was a joy to get this far and have these type of guys, undrafted, fighting to make a name for themselves.
“He is a two-way basketball player,” he said before Game 3 after Butler had failed to put up Playoff Jimmy numbers.
Now, the Heat have a long flight back to Miami and fans won’t get to see mascot Burnie’s — or Herro’s — return in Game 6.