As soon as their playoff game ended Thursday night, Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat found Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers to embrace him and say goodbye. The two stars were teammates in Philadelphia during the 2018-19 season, and there was a time when Butler thought he might remain in the city longer. The 76ers had other plans, though, and that slight has stayed with Butler.
Moments after he embraced Embiid, Butler was asked what he had said.
“That I love him; I’m proud of him,” Butler said in a television interview. “Yes, yes, yes, I still wish I was on this team.