Jimmy Butler was in basketball purgatory around this time last year. Frustrated with the Miami Heat‘s reluctance to offer him a contract extension or add star power to the roster, he demanded a trade and — after multiple team-issued suspensions for detrimental conduct — was shipped to the Golden State Warriors in February.
Before the deal, Butler famously told reporters he’d lost his “joy” playing basketball, and it seemed to bleed over to his teammates. Miami eventually stumbled to the NBA Play-In Tournament before being walloped by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. The Warriors, meanwhile, advanced to the second round before a Stephen Curry hamstring injury erased their title hopes.
Boy, have the tables turned this year.
The Heat have undergone a complete transformation, using a run-and-gun offensive approach to rank first in pace this season and second in scoring despite injuries to All-Stars Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Miami is sixth in the East while Golden State is down in eighth out West, with tensions brewing between the young players and veterans like Draymond Green.
Golden State visited the Heat on Wednesday, and with Curry, Green and Butler sidelined, they fell 110-96. To add fuel to the fire for Heat fans who’ve yet to forgive Butler for his, well, Butlerness, Adebayo wore a hat that read “Joy Dealer” postgame, with many viewing it as shade to his former teammate.
It appears Adebayo didn’t have pettiness on the mind, however. The “Joy Dealer” hat is from a community empowerment initiative offering acts of service, shared meals through the company OnDecker, which helps athletes collaborate with nonprofits.
Regardless of the context, Adebayo’s hat choice along with the big win certainly brought joy to South Florida.