Heat's Jimmy Butler says winning NBA title would mean 'everything' - ESPN

MIAMI — Jimmy Butler doesn't mince words.

As he sits just three wins away from his first NBA championship, Butler is honest about what winning a title for the Miami Heat would be to him in his 12th professional season.

«Everything,» Butler told ESPN. «What are you talking about? That's why everybody plays this game. I lied — that's why a lot of people play this game — is to win a championship. Everybody here — is to win a championship. That's all we lock in on, that's all we're focused on. Like we put so much energy towards winning and playing for one another that if we do this together, we get to celebrate this together, we're like, I don't know the word, itched, niched, we made our mark in history together forever, so we're in that.»

As Butler, 33, comes into Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, he does so as the driving force behind the Heat's surprising run. The Heat are just the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to reach the Finals and Butler has been at the center of Miami's wins over the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks, No. 5 seeded New York Knicks and No. 2 seeded Boston Celtics. Butler won the Larry Bird trophy as the MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, but he has his eyes on an even bigger prize.

After many highs and lows in his previous stops with the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers, Butler has fully embraced the culture that has been a bedrock of the Heat organization for almost three decades under the leadership of team president Pat Riley and, since 2008, coach Erik Spoelstra.

«It's only about winning here,» Butler said. «It's only about working hard, it's only about being together, and they only bring people here that's about one goal. We're not