Miami Heat star forward Jimmy Butler has been arguably the story of the 2023 NBA playoffs. After not being selected as an All-Star this season, Butler has carried the eighth-seeded Heat all the way to the NBA Finals behind his superstar level of play.
This marks a trend for "Playoff Jimmy", who consistently raises his game to another level come playoff time. However, many agree that his performance in this year’s playoffs has been his most impressive to date. This includes The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, who recently offered some high praise for the Heat star.
On a recent episode of 'The Bill Simmons Podcast', Simmons said that Butler’s 2023 playoff run has catapulted him into the 'Top 100 Players of All-Time' status:
“It feels like he’s in the [Top] 100 now for me. I might have moved some seat charts around and snuck him in there,” Simmons said.
Simmons then named some players that he has in the same range as Butler in the 90s of his Top 100 players list:
“I have Jimmy somewhere in the mid-90s depending on where this goes.”
He added, “I got (Tony) Parker and I got Manu (Ginobili) and I got Klay Thompson and Bobby Dandridge and Jimmy Butler, and then I got Tracy McGrady right in front of him. Paul Westphal right in front of him. Like, those guys were First Team All-NBA guys who were in the argument for being one of the best five players in the league for a couple of years in a row.”
Later in his podcast, Simmons reflected on how improbable Butler’s rise to prominence has been after being a relatively unheralded draft prospect in 2011:
“What an improbable turn of events for that dude".
Simmons explained, “He goes 30th in the draft… Philly trades for him, they basically give up nothing. It was like [Robert] Covington and [Dario] Saric and Jerryd Bayless, that was the trade. Then Miami basically also gives up nothing for him. It was like Hassan Whiteside and Josh Richardson and a future first.
“Then over the last four years, [Butler] turns himself into this unbelievable belated asset. I think he’s one of the best 100 players ever. I don’t even think it’s an argument.”
Butler is currently averaging 27.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game on 47.5% shooting over 19 playoff games so far.
Also read: "Nuggets in trouble"- NBA fans react to Jimmy Butler and Miami Heat winning Game 2 of the NBA Finals
Jimmy Butler on the Miami Heat’s playoff mentality
After the Miami Heat’s 111-108 Game 2 win over the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler was asked what makes his team so resilient. Butler said that the Heat thrive because they don’t care what anyone outside of their organization thinks:
"I just think nobody cares on our team".
He continued, “We're not worried about what anybody thinks. We're so focused on what we do well and who we are as a group that, at the end of the day, that's what we fall back on. Make or miss shots. We're gonna be who we are because we're not worried about anybody else.
“That's how it's been all year long, and that's not gonna change. That's what I think it is. I think it's the, ‘I don't give a damn’ factor.”
Following their Game 2 win, Butler and the Heat are tied 1-1 in the Finals with the Nuggets.
Game 3 will take place on Wednesday in Miami.
