Miami Heat's Max Strus Dishes On The Jimmy Butler Handshake

Strus and Butler have developed a strong friendship

Miami Heat shooting guard Max Strus has been a relatively quiet player. 

He was often a footnote in the noise factor until a viral moment because of a handshake with teammate Jimmy Butler. It handshake was showcased in the Heat’s 115-109 win last season against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Strus talked about the handshake, which caused some controversy because it involved them giving each other middle finger on television. It also displayed his relationship with Butler. 

“It kind of just happened naturally,” Strus said to 560 WQAM. “I think me and Jimmy both have a good sense of humor. We’re very sarcastic with each other. We just get each other in that term of things. One day we just flipped each other off, and since then we just kept doing it. People get a kick out of it, and we think it’s hilarious so we’re gonna keep doing it.”

Butler and Strus avoided a fine or technical foul for what some would consider an obscene gesture. Butler was unable to do the same against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs. 

After Strus had a personal 10-0 run in a closeout game, Butler celebrated his teammate by thrusting his hips on the sideline. Butler, who sat out because of injury, was fined $15,000 by the league.

“You can get fined for anything,” Strus said. “You really gotta be careful. But when you’re Jimmy Butler, you got all the money in the world, so he can take care of it.”

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.