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Jae Crowder may go down as the greatest half-year rental in NBA history. He played 41 games (including playoffs) for the Miami Heat last season and was instrumental in getting them to the NBA Finals while viciously instigating with one particular teammate every single day in the Orlando bubble.
Crowder, who opted for the Phoenix Suns in free agency, is three wins away from winning his first NBA championship. It would certainly be a well-deserved honor for the 31-year-old forward from Marquette University. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, it was that Marquette connection that had tempers rising last year in Miami.
The plugged-in reporter relayed stories of Crowder and Heat star Jimmy Butler verbally sparring during intense one-on-one battles leading up to the Heat’s improbable run to the NBA Finals. Crowder and Butler knew how to push each other’s buttons having been college teammates at Marquette in 2010-11. Lowe wrote the following about their time together in Miami:
A prolonged series of one-on-one games between them was perhaps Miami’s secret defining moment of last season’s bubble run. The two had started trash-talking during five-on-five action in practice toward the end of the seeding games. It got heated, and they cleared the court to settle it with a series of one-on-one games that lasted somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour.
The player with the ball had to start either on the wing or at the top of the key, and could take only a certain number of dribbles before shooting. The trash talk became so profane, and so personal, it was borderline uncomfortable, team sources said. Almost the entire Heat contingent stayed to watch. ‘I’ve been busting your a** since school!’ Butler taunted, according to Crowder.
The trash-talking got worse, according to Lowe, and there were a few on-court confrontations. It all happened under the watchful eye of head coach Erik Spoelstra and Heat players loved every minute of it. In fact, they credit the Crowder-Butler battles for “bringing an edge to practices” and making them a better team.
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Butler Stars in Disney ‘Junge Cruise’ Commercial
The new “Jungle Cruise” movie from Disney opens in theatres nationwide on July 30. It stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in the leading roles of “Skipper” Frank Wolff and Dr. Lily Houghton.
However, two Miami Heat stars — Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo — are featured in a commercial for the upcoming flick. The funny 29-second video references Heat legend Dwyane Wade, too, as Butler and Adebayo blame him for volunteering them for the death-defying cruise. Take a look below:
Wade Visits Surfside Condo Collapse
Meanwhile, Wade visited the site of the tragic Surfside condo collapse on Wednesday. The future Hall of Famer thanked first responders and addressed a team from the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue before they began their shift, according to Ira Winderman.
The Heat have been hands-on in dealing with the tragedy unfolding in their backyard. Tyler Herro rushed to the scene in a rescue van on the day of the accident, while Bam Adebayo (July 2) and Udonis Haslem (June 30) have also visited the wreckage to offer support and prayers. The Heat organization has also been encouraging people to donate to Support Surfside.
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