Jimmy Butler's Official Status For Heat-Hawks Game

Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for Saturday's game.

Jan 14, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) protects the ball from Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the second quarter of the game at FTX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

On Saturday night, the Miami Heat will be in Georgia to play the Atlanta Hawks.

For the game, they will remain without their best player, as Jimmy Butler has been ruled out.

The six-time NBA All-Star has missed each of the previous three games, so this will be his fourth straight out of action.

Via The Miami Heat on December 27: "#MIAvsATL INJURY UPDATE: Jimmy Butler (return to competition reconditioning) and Josh Richardson (heel) have both been ruled out of tomorrow’s game vs the Hawks.

Butler will remain in Miami and rejoin the team after the road trip."

#MIAvsATL INJURY UPDATE: Jimmy Butler (return to competition reconditioning) and Josh Richardson (heel) have both been ruled out of tomorrow’s game vs the Hawks.

Butler will remain in Miami and rejoin the team after the road trip.

Nikola Jovic (ankle) is listed as questionable.

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 27, 2024

Butler is averaging 18.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 55.2% from the field and 35.7% from the three-point range in 20 games.

The former Marquette star has been mentioned in a lot of trade rumors as of late.

However, Pat Riley made a bold statement about those rumors.

Riley (via the Heat on December 26): "We usually don't comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear - We are not trading Jimmy Butler."

Statement from Pat Riley

"We usually don't comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear - We are not trading Jimmy Butler."

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 26, 2024

The Heat come into play as the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 15-13 record in 28 games.

They are also in the middle of a two-game winning streak after defeating the Orlando Magic by a score of 89-88.

Butler is in his sixth season with the franchise.