The Denver Gazette

‘I MISS HIM SO MUCH’

Nothing but love between Heat star Jimmy Butler and late Bronco Demaryius Thomas at NBA Finals tipoff.

PAUL KLEE The Denver Gazette

Jimmy Butler is a Broncos fan. He even has all the jerseys.

They’re all No. 88.

Denver misses the late Demaryius Thomas. So does Miami’s fearless basketball star.

“I miss him so much,” Butler said Wednesday at Ball Arena. “That’s my brother — forever.”

Yes, it’s OK to boo Butler and the Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday. Shoot, after 47 years of Nuggets almosts, nevers, Skitas and LaFrentzes, cheer and boo your Nuggets-loving heart out.

Just know it was nothing but love between Butler and DT, who died in 2021, two weeks before his 34th Christmas Day birthday.

Butler, a force in these NBA playoffs, made so many trips to Denver to hang with DT he’s lost count. He grew a friendship for the ages with the Broncos wide receiver. They trained together at Red Rocks. They would attend Nuggets games as fans. They traveled to Africa and Greece together. I remember outside the Broncos locker room after the 2016 Broncos opener against the Panthers, Jimmy smothered Demaryius in a hug that would crush some men.

They did not grow up together. Jimmy is a proud Texan who listens to Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs before games, Demaryius a Southern gentleman from Georgia. They met late, as adults. Some time around 2014 or 2015, Jimmy read a news story about Demaryius and simply reached out to the man. He read how DT’s mom and grandmother spent time in prison. He read how Demaryius was brought up under difficult circumstances… and still made the big time.

Their friendship was built out of their respective hardships.

Asked for his favorite childhood memory of the NBA Finals, Butler said: “We didn’t have cable.”

Likewise, Demaryius had limited memories of NFL games and Super Bowls from his childhood.

Like you and me, Butler watched Thomas score touchdown after touchdown … and politely hand the ball over to the referee. Jimmy loved that about DT. He loved everything about DT.

“I spent so much time here with him (in Denver), watching him be great,” Butler said. “He motivated me. His story was really, really incredible. Everything he went through to make it and do what he did and everything he went through to make it.”

Thomas’ name is all over the Broncos record books: second in receiving yards (9,814), second in touchdown receptions (66), third in catches (718). In 2014 with Peyton Manning, he set a Broncos record with 1,619 receiving yards. From 2012-14 he caught 35 touchdown passes.

Butler knows what’s coming from the Nuggets crowd, and it won’t bother him. He’s guided the No. 8-seed Heat to three consecutive playoff series upsets, including a Game 7 win at Boston.

Much has been made of the “Heat culture” that’s led to six Finals berths in 13 years.

“Denver has a very similar personality,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday.

The Heat’s personality is perfect for Butler, a relentless competitor who digs a good challenge.

“I love it here,” Butler said.

The Nuggets are a sizable favorite over the Heat in the NBA Finals. But where there’s a Jimmy, there’s a way, and he would be at the center of an upset. Butler has raised his scoring average from 22.9 points per game in the regular season to 28.5 in the playoffs. He also averages 9.1 free throws per game. There will be boos.

Jamal Murray explained how the Nuggets will attempt to keep Butler off the line: “Show your hands. Be in stance. It’s going to take a team effort (and) crowd. Verticality, jumping straight up when he attacks the rim. He’s going to throw his body at you. He’s going to fall to the floor.”

There’s another similarity between Butler and his “brother forever.” They play through pain.

Remember Super Bowl XLVIII and the vicious hit on Thomas in the first quarter? DT played on, setting a Super Bowl record with 13 catches. DT’s toughness made him a favorite teammate.

Butler enters the NBA Finals with questions about his bum right ankle, an injury he suffered in a series against the Knicks. On Finals eve, Butler was asked about the health of the ankle. “Nobody cares,” he said with a laugh. Demaryius would play and play well. Jimmy will play and play well.

The two men were close enough that Demaryius once lobbied Butler to sign with the Nuggets.

“I actually have a lot of love for this city,” Butler said Wednesday.

Shoot, he already has the required Broncos jerseys. They’re all No. 88.

SPORTS

en-us

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.denvergazette.com/article/282054806416738

The Gazette, Colorado Springs