Jimmy Butler transformed into a star during his six seasons with the Chicago Bulls. Drafted 30th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, the Houston, Texas native went from just another guy off the bench to the face of the franchise, which is why it was so surprising when the Bulls dealt him to the Minnesota Timberwolves last offseason.
On Friday night, Butler returned to Chicago for the first time since the deal, as did Taj Gibson who signed with the T-Wolves over the summer, and the team had quite the tribute video waiting for them.
Considering Gibson and Butler spent a combined 13 and a half seasons in Chicago, the Bulls had plenty of footage to work with for their tribute and they nailed every second of it.
Since Butler never intended on leaving the Bulls and the fans were super upset to see him go, you can bet everyone in attendance was on their feet the second the video ended to welcome the two former Bulls back to town.
The Bulls ended up spoiling Butler and Gibson’s return to Chicago with a 114-113 victory, but Butler led the way with a game-high 38 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
However, Butler wasn’t the only one who had a huge night against his former team as Zach LaVine went off for 35 points, with 15 of them coming in the fourth quarter, to go along with five rebounds, one assist and two steals in the win.
(H/T Twitter/ChicagoBulls)
