NBA insider Stephen A. Smith believes the Philadelphia 76ers should rue the day they allowed Jimmy Butler to depart for the Miami Heat in 2019. According to one NBA expert, the Joel Embiid-led Philadelphia 76ers should have reached the Eastern Conference Finals by now. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith recently addressed the Sixers’ playoff struggles during the Embiid era and speculated on how things might have turned out differently had they retained Jimmy Butler.

Smith stated on ESPN’s First Take, “If [Butler] had never left Philly and had remained Embiid’s teammate, the 76ers wouldn’t be in this drought of failing to reach a conference finals.” He added, “They would have at least reached a conference finals by now if they had kept Jimmy instead of losing him to Miami.”

It’s worth noting that Stephen A. Smith is referring to the brief half-season Jimmy Butler spent with the Sixers in 2019. During that year, the team reached Game 7 of the second round before being eliminated by Kawhi Leonard, thanks to an unforgettable clutch jump shot. Since then, the Sixers have made multiple returns to the second round, even reaching Game 7 in 2021 and 2023, but have yet to advance to the NBA’s Final Four.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler’s new team, the Miami Heat, has reached the NBA Finals twice since the multi-time All-Star took his talents to South Beach.