Jimmy Butler only played one season with Minnesota Timberwolves, but the fanbase will never let him forget the messy way he left the franchise.

When Butler plays in Minnesota, he is booed pretty much every time. Tuesday night's Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals series was no different, even though it was his first time playing there since 2021. Whenever Butler was on the court, fans could be heard booing him from the stands in the Target Center.

The Golden State Warriors star was asked about the booing after the game, which the Warriors won 99-88, and Butler admitted the booing doesn't bother him. But, if fans were to heckle him and say things he doesn't want to hear, then his reaction would be different.

"[The booing] 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..."

Butler's teammate Buddy Hield was at the media table with him, and he chirped up when Butler brought up Timberwolves fans heckling him.

"What they say?" Hield asked.

"You want me to repeat it?" Butler responded. "No, I'm not going to repeat it. It's not good. That's unnecessary. The boos, I get it, I understand. Let's just keep it at that."

"Yeah, watch your mouth," Hield said.

"Thanks, little bro," Butler said while holding back a laugh.

It sounds like if Timberwolves fans are brave enough to come for Butler, they're going to have to go through Hield, too.

The Warriors' duo really stepped up in Game 1 after their teammate Steph Curry left the game early with a hamstring strain. Butler put up a double-double, scoring 20 points with 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Hield scored a team-high 24 points and tallied eight rebounds and three assists.

Butler and Hield, and the rest of the Warriors, will have to continue shining in Game 2 as Curry was ruled out for the contest and is expected to miss around a week. Maybe the booing in Minnesota will keep Butler fired up.

More NBA on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jimmy Butler Has Stern Message for Timberwolves Fans Amid Them Booing Him.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate