The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics to go to the NBA Finals, as Jimmy Butler was awarded The Larry Bird Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
Following a 5-4 victory over teammate Caleb Martin in the media vote, Butler was chosen as the Eastern Conference Final MVP.
Butler recorded 28 points (9/21 2PT, 3/7 3PT, 1/2 FT) in Game 7, along with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 1 turnover.
Butler had a series average of 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.6 steals throughout the course of the seven-game series against the Celtics.
Bam Adebayo led Miami in scoring with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists as they won their fourth straight game. Teams with a 3-0 series lead increased their record of success in the NBA playoffs to 151-0 overall.
Derrick White had 18 points, Jaylen Brown had 19 points, and Boston, the second-seeded club, had 19 points. Boston became just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after dropping the first three games.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 14 points and 11 rebounds, although he limped the entire game after twisting his left ankle during the opening possession.
The Miami Heat will take on the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals after winning the series 4-3. Heat became the second 8th seed in NBA history to advance to the NBA Finals after New York Knicks in the 1998-99 season.
The fact that Butler was given preference over Martin upset Celtics supporters.
Some fans mentioned it’s incredible how Jimmy Butler has helped the Heat stay relevant since joining them in 2019, and his route to winning this award has been far superior to that of most other superstars who changed teams in 2019.
Neutral fans appreciated Butler but did agree that Martin should’ve at least been interviewed for coming up big throughout this series.
