Hustle and Hard Work: Determining the Factors That Make Jimmy Butler Unique in the Modern NBA

Jimmy Butler and the Heat unexpectedly won the Eastern Conference and took the Lakers to six games in the bubble (Garrett Ellwood, Getty Images)

Author: Nicholas Parekh, nicholasparekh2022@u.northwestern.edu, (Weinberg ‘22)

Love him or hate him, Jimmy Butler defied expectations and brought the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals where they pushed a loaded LA Lakers team to a Game 6. Down 2-0 against the Lakers, Butler put up a 40 point triple-double – one of only 3 in NBA history to do it in the NBA finals – to give the Heat a chance. Now, the question is what makes Butler so special? No, he is not the effortless scorer that Kevin Durant is, nor is he the gifted playmaker that Lebron is. However, when Jimmy G Buckets is on the floor, you know he will elevate his teammates and always compete to win. As Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said, “it’s really hard to analyze or describe Jimmy until you feel him between the four lines.” 

To attempt to analyze Butler, I looked at the career regular season stats of Jimmy Butler in comparison to those of 9 other top NBA small forwards: Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram, Gordon Hayward, Demar Derozan, and Khris Middleton. To analyze the development of Butler’s own career, I compare his season stats from the 2014-15 season (his first All Star season) to the present (a total of 6 seasons). 

One key aspect of Butler’s game that has improved significantly this season is his playmaking ability. Outside of Lebron James who is an exceptional passer and more of a point guard (and was therefore excluded from the boxplot above), Butler had the highest median assist percentage during the 2019-20 NBA season with 28.4%. That meant he was directly assisting on almost 30% of his teammate’s field goals. Only Kawhi and Demar Derozan came close with 26.5% and 24.0%, respectively. While Butler’s number of 2 and 3 PT shot attempts were both at a 6 season low last season, Butler’s assist percentage was at a 6 season high. Butler is evolving from being a pure scorer to becoming more of a point forward, facilitating for the younger talent on his team like Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson. 

Another way Butler impacts the game is by getting to the line. Last season, he averaged the highest number of free throw attempts with 8.5 per game. Kawhi came in second with 7 free throw attempts per game. Moreover, he also made significant improvements compared to the previous season with the Philadelphia 76ers where he averaged a 6 season low in free throw attempts which was probably a side effect of playing with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Butler may be getting to the line more because of his aggressive style of play which involves a lot of drives to the basket and post ups. Regardless, his ability to get calls should make opposing teams weary and play him more carefully. 

Finally, Butler completely dominated the offensive glass last season. He posted the highest average offensive rebound percentage with 6.34%, almost double the percentage of the next leading player (Gordon Hayward with 3.28%). Moreover, he’s beating out taller forwards like Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard in terms of this metric as well. It’s also important to note that this isn’t a new phenomenon. Since his 1st All Star season (2014-15 season), Butler has averaged the highest offensive rebound percentage with 4.91% and Kawhi coming in second at 4.01%. While offensive rebounds are often neglected in the modern NBA due to the increased pace of the game and emphasis on transition defense, Butler has embraced the old school approach of hustling for offensive boards to give his teammates more second chance scoring opportunities. 

Now, I want to shift things and look at Butler’s defense. During the 2019-20 season, Butler had the second highest median steal percentage with 2.75% and was only beat by the “Klaw” who had a median steal percentage of 2.9%. This is also not a new development. Over the last 6 seasons, Butler has had an average steal percentage of 2.55%, only trailing Paul George and Kawhi Leonard who had average steal percentages of 2.59% and 2.97%, respectively. Butler is right on par with other elite perimeter defenders in this aspect. With regards to block percentage, Butler posted a 6 season high and had the second highest average last season with 1.67%, beating out Kawhi and Paul George who had averages of 1.61% and 1.26%, respectively. Butler was only beat by Jayson Tatum who had an average block percentage of 2.42%. While Butler is known for his ability to steal the ball, he is less known for his ability to block the ball in comparison to taller forwards like Lebron or Brandon Ingram, which is what makes this statistic so interesting. Butler may not be getting the highlight reel chase-down blocks, but he’s a massively underrated shot blocker who deserves more credit for his defense. 

Among the small forwards who played during the 2020 season, Butler recorded the lowest average number of personal fouls with 1.40 per game. The next lowest player was Lebron who averaged 1.76 per game. Other elite perimeter defenders such as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George averaged 1.98 and 2.35 per game, respectively. For someone who plays with as much defensive intensity as Butler, one would expect more personal fouls (think Patrick Beverly). The more times you try to steal and block the ball, the more times you will inevitably foul the player you are guarding. The fact that Butler is able to match or outperform highly regarded defenders like Kawhi and Paul George on blocks and steals while averaging less personal fouls is a testament to his defensive discipline and suggests a critical reevaluation of his place in defensive rankings. 

Overall, Butler has proven himself to be one of the top NBA players, capable of leading a team to the NBA Finals. His elite perimeter defense combined with his unselfishness on offense have distinguished him from other players of similar caliber. The 2020-21 NBA season hasn’t even begun yet, but many people are already sleeping on Butler and the Heat despite their success last season. One thing for certain is that Butler is a true competitor and winner who will continue to prove his critics and doubters wrong.

All Stats used via Basketball Reference

1 Comment on "Hustle and Hard Work: Determining the Factors That Make Jimmy Butler Unique in the Modern NBA"

  1. Excellent insights!

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