Jimmy Butler’s four-word sledge is absolutely brutal

NBA star Jimmy Butler dropped a bomb in front of the cameras next to his team’s locker room and it will sting for a very long time.

Jimmy Butler. Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images.

Jimmy Butler is a straight up, stone cold assassin.

If knocking the 76ers out of the Playoffs wasn’t enough — the insults that came after the series-clinching win on Friday would have dismayed Philadelphia fans.

The Sixers’ death sentence was sealed by the star player the team let slip through their fingers as Butler dropped 32 points to lead his team to a 99-90 victory.

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Butler famously left during a free agency period when the Sixers were focused on getting ready to eventually upgrade Ben Simmons to a max extension, while also dealing with Butler, Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick being on the open market.

There have been contrasting reports about the circumstances surrounding Butler’s departure with some reports suggesting the Sixers offered a five-year max extension. Other reports suggest Butler left without getting a serious offer.

Jimmy Butler scores on Tobias Harris. Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP.

Jimmy Butler was cooking on Friday. Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images.

At the time it was rumoured Butler and Simmons weren’t gelling as a result of both players needing the ball in their hands — and Butler’s famously aggressive training habits of demanding more from his teammates.

With Simmons looking well on his way to becoming a superstar, the team elected to build around the Australian instead of Butler and signed Harris to a max extension because his offensive skillset complimented Simmons’ style.

Butler walked out and shortly after led the Heat to the NBA championship.

That saga was the set-up for Butler to drop a brutal four-word sledge as he walked off the court following the series-clinching win.

As he walked past cameras parked out the front of his team’s locker room, Butler yelled: “Tobias Harris over me?”

“Tobias Harris over me???”

Jimmy Butler took the series vs the Sixers personally pic.twitter.com/ARwWBrkr4r

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Speaking on the court just moments after the win, Butler further trolled Philly fans when he said he wished he was still playing alongside Joel Embiid.

Any suggestion he wanted to stay in Philadelphia is a sucker-punch to the Sixers — with the advantage on hindsight showing the Sixers’ decision to let him leave was an absolute disaster.

“I love him. I’m proud of him. I still wish I was on his team,” Butler said.

“I definitely love the Miami Heat, though.

“I got so much respect and love for Joel Embiid.”

Bleacher Report’s Bryan Topoek posted on Twitter Butler’s cheeky suggestion “just added insult to injury”.

Embiid responded in his post match press conference by saying: “I still don’t know how we let him go”.

Joel Embiid and James Harden. Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images.

The 76ers haven’t made it past the second round since 2001.

The Heat will take on either the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics for a place in the NBA Finals.

Miami reached the conference finals for the second time in three seasons since Butler joined the team after the 2019 season — when the 76ers essentially opted to let him go.