#CARON BUTLER STRAWS SERIES#
Needless to say, it took on a life of its own, reaching exponential levels when James said responding to Stevenson, “would be like Jay-Z saying something bad about Soulja Boy.” That comment set the stage for a classic, six-game series that would have ended in five if not for that heroic performance from Butler. I wasn’t writing that night but I passed the quote along to my Washington Post colleague at the time, Ivan Carter. I looked incredulously at Stevenson as he walked away. Stevenson was agitated and angry with James and feeling himself a bit. After a mid-March win in which he served as an all-night pest for James - who missed a potential game-winning three-pointer - I approached Stevenson to see what had gotten into him. Stevenson was a scrappy, defensive-minded guard who loved challenges, occasionally couldn’t feel his face and especially took pleasure in getting under James’s skin.
#CARON BUTLER STRAWS FREE#
But the history of losing in 2006 after James’s gamesmanship contributed to two Arenas missed free throws, and in 2007, when season-ending injuries to both Butler and Arenas made them the merciful victims of a sweep, set up a matchup in ’08 that was only heightened by the behavior of Stevenson, whose competitiveness with James got personal. And, for what would be their last playoff run together, the Wizards again drew James’s Cavaliers, which was either the perfect ending or a cruel joke, depending on your perspective. And that roster was loaded with characters - including DeShawn Stevenson - who kept boredom at a minimum with their quick-witted soundbites and shameless swagger.ĭespite Grunfeld’s repeated efforts after that season to double-down on the group’s potential, that team could never be any more than a tease.
The outrageous Arenas was responsible for much of the attention, proving to be ahead of his time in terms of long-distance bombs and pre-social media self-marketing. They’ll forever be remembered as the first Eastern Conference franchise on which James built his reputation for ruin. Instead, they will go down a dust-bin of forgotten, had-to-have-been-there legends that failed to resonate outside of their most dedicated fans. If not for injuries, perhaps hubris, and the misfortune of getting James in three straight postseasons, those Wizards likely would’ve won a playoff series, or two, or more. Those Wizards teams led by Arenas, Butler and Antawn Jamison - one of the more tantalizing trios of that period - were a fun, uptempo unit that could get buckets in abundance, but never a good break. “That was one of the sweetest wins ever,” Butler said in a phone interview with The Athletic, as the 12th anniversary of the last playoff victory for the Big Three era Wizards was approaching, “because it had a lot of emotion behind it.” That would come two nights later, but it wasn’t going to be this night. Afterward, Butler lifted his jersey to a stunned crowd that was ready to kick the Wizards to the curb for the third postseason in a row. Playing the best playoff game of his career to that point, Butler kept what little hope was alive with a virtuoso performance: 32 points, including the game-winning floater off the glass over James and a charging Ben Wallace. Butler was only aware of the opportunity that was in front of him, with the Wizards facing elimination, and despair sinking in. Even if signs were already showing in Gilbert Arenas’s surgically-repaired left knee, the increasingly sour relationship of Coach Eddie Jordan and General Manager Ernie Grunfeld, and the declining health of owner Abe Pollin. Butler didn’t know that this would be the last stand for one of the more underrated, could’ve-been-really-good teams of the aughts.
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