Jimmy Butler issued a stern response to heckling Minnesota Timberwolves fans.
Speaking to reporters after the Warriors' 99-88 win over Minnesota in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday at Target Center, Butler, the former Timberwolf playing in his first game at the arena since 2021, was asked about the heckling and loud boos he received throughout the game and shared a message to his former fan base.
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SIGN UP HERE "That doesn't bother me," Butler said. "But people do have to watch their mouth. It's cool with the boos and all this stuff, but when you're calling people out of their names, which I can hear ..."
"What they say?" Warriors teammate Buddy Hield, who sat next to Butler at his postgame press conference, asked.
Butler: "You want me to repeat it? No, I'm not going to repeat it ... That's unnecessary. The boos, I get it, I understand. Let's just keep it at that."
Hield: "Yeah, watch your mouth."
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Butler: "Thanks, little bro."
Butler only spent one-plus season (69 total games) with the Timberwolves from 2017 to 2018 before requesting a trade that sent him to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The veteran forward's short tenure in Minnesota was shrouded in controversy due to contract disputes and an overall dissatisfaction with the organization's culture. So much so that Butler's former Timberwolves teammate, Jeff Teague, declared Butler the "most hated man in Minnesota" prior to Game 1.
And based on what Butler might have heard from the crowd Tuesday night, he might not be wrong.