Bringing The Heat: Jimmy Butler’s “Hot” Playoff Run In Comparison With NBA’s All Star Players
Photo by @Miamiheat on Instagram
Jimmy Butler’s postgame run was phenomenal; you just had to be there to witness his greatness. From taking eighth-seed Miami Heat to a Game Four win over the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring 56 points, to becoming the sixth player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) history to score 56 points or more in a playoff game. The level that Butler brings to the table for Miami is extremely high. Let's take a look at his playoff statistics:
Points Per Game: 27.3
Assists Per Game: 5.9
Rebounds Per Game: 6.8
With Miami Heat just barely making it into the 2023 NBA playoffs, they continued to bring on the surprise for viewers. Continuing to beat the odds by making it past the Milwaukee Bucks, Butler took charge to lead them to the Finals.
As we are witnessing history, the second eighth seed to ever make it to the championship round. Let's take a look at some of the NBA's All-Time great playoff runs to compare.
Photo by USA TODAY Sports
Starting off with our most recent run, Kawhi Leonard. In 2019, Kawhi Leonard was traded to the Toronto Raptors as an incoming free agent and led the Raptors to their first and only NBA championship win.
Leonard had an outstanding postseason run with the Raptors. Take a look:
Points Per Game: 30.5
Assists Per Game: 3.9
Rebounds Per Game: 9.1
Leonard is the first champion to eclipse 30 points per game with 60 percent true shooting.
Photo by @LegionHoops on Twitter
Next up, is Shaquille O’ Neil’s epic 2001 playoff run. With Shaq’s dominance, the Los Angeles Lakers took victory as NBA champions of 2001 with Shaq as a two-peat NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
Shaq made history in 2001. His numbers just say so!
Points Per Game: 30.4
Assists Per Game: 3.2
Rebounds Per Game: 15.4
May 6, 2001: The Los Angeles Lakers played against the Sacramento Kings in game one. Shaquille O’Neil did not come to play, scoring 44 points and 21 rebounds, as he led the team to victory with a final score of 108-105.
May 8, 2002: It is now game two against the Sacramento Kings, and once again, Shaquille O’Neil was a one-man wrecking crew. Scoring 43 points with 20 rebounds, he just made history for himself.
With this run, Shaquil O’Neil became the second player in NBA history to have consecutive 40-point, 20-rebound playoff games, an utter display of dominance.
Photo by Neil Leifer
Last but most definitely not least, Michael Jordan’s 1991 playoffs rodeo. Creating a list of greats in NBA history would be impossible without including the man himself. After numerous thwarted attempts, 1991 saw Michael Jordan defeat the Pistons en route to blowing past Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers for his first NBA Finals ring.
The statistics don’t lie!
Points Per Game: 31.1
Assists Per Game: 6.4
Rebounds Per Game: 8.4
Jordan continued to set records for himself time after time. In 1991, Jordan made 13 consecutive shots from the field against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Another one!
Jordan was a record-setter for playoffs with his 13 free throws in a quarter against Detroit.
After displaying three All-Time NBA Players and their hot runs, is Butler still Himmy Butler? Well yes. However, is he as substantial of a playoff player this season as viewers are saying? The numbers would say that is at best debatable.
In comparison to the others, Butler’s points per game number were the lowest by at least 3.1 points off Leonard at 30.4.
Again, when we look at these players and their rebounds per game during their playoff runs, Butler falls short by 2.3 rebounds of Leonards's record at 9.1.
Nonetheless, Butler’s assist per game statistic did stand out amongst the others. He is the second highest on this list, right under Michael Jordan, with 6.4 assists per game.
Overall, Butler has turned heads left and right throughout his post-game season. Bringing the eighth-seed Miami Heat to the Finals is huge for him, the team, and the fans. Butler has had an exceptional run, but maybe he’s not as “hot” as many are saying.