Jimmy Butler’s first game back in Miami since last season’s trade brings attention, but the Heat insist the storyline no longer defines them.

The Miami Heat are proving their critics wrong with their early-season form in the 2025-26 NBA season. When the Miami Heat traded Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors last season, many expected the team to struggle in the Eastern Conference this campaign.

Jimmy Butler’s Miami return stays tense as he ignores Heat players again, while Bam Adebayo react after the win.

Following Miami’s 112-86 beatdown of the Warriors in March, Adebayo told the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang that he wasn’t “shocked” by Jimmy Butler’s snub. He said that he didn’t want to take the frosty treatment personally.

As soon as the Miami Heat schedule was released, fans were excited for Nov. 19. They should have known better. Jimmy Butler tends to miss a lot of regular seaso