Jimmy Butler Says Heat Offered Him No. 23 Despite Being Retired for Michael Jordan

If he had accepted a simple offer, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler may have been sporting the No. 23 with the franchise.

Butler has donned the number made famous by Michael Jordan twice in his NBA career, but he currently sports the No. 22 with the Miami Heat. This is because the franchise retired the number in honor of Jordan in 2003. However, Butler said that Heat president Pat Riley did give him the option.

The Heat made history when they retired Jordan's jersey number, as it was the first time a team had retired a player's number who hadn't ever played for the franchise. It has been done twice since, as the Dallas Mavericks retired late Lakers star Kobe Bryant's jersey in 2020 and Bill Russell had his number retired league-wide in 2022.

Still, it makes sense that Riley and the Heat would be willing to break tradition for an impact star like Butler. The six-time All-Star has led the franchise to the conference finals in three of his four seasons and is widely considered to be one of the top talents in the league.