Moving forward with our top 25 player rankings, we arrive at Jimmy Butler. The veteran Miami Heat wing is one of the league’s best playoff performers and a two-way star. Despite being a proven star, Butler has plenty to prove this upcoming season. Let’s examine Butler’s game and spot on this list.
Top 25 NBA Players 2024-25: No. 17 – Jimmy Butler
An All-Time Playoff Riser
Butler is one of the best playoff performers not just in the league right now but of all time. Highlighted by incredible Finals runs in 2023 and 2020 Butler consistently raises his production in the playoffs. In the 2023 playoffs, Butler averaged 26.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. Additionally, Butler has eight career playoff games with 40 or more points. Butler is an elite isolation scorer and shot creation. Butler particularly thrives as a finisher and gets to the line at an extremely high rate. He compliments this with a well-rounded overall skill set including high-level, defense rebounding, and playmaking. In the playoffs Butler is a top-10 level player however, in the regular season he’s somewhere in the 20s.
Season Recap
After a magical run to the NBA Finals in 2023 things didn’t break right for the Heat in the 2023-24 campaign. They did finish with two more wins than the previous season and made a mid-season trade for Terry Rozier. However, they earned the eight-seed and were handily eliminated by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. Notably, Butler was injured during the play-in game against the Bulls and didn’t suit up for the Celtics series. Butler averaged 20.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 49.9/41.4/85.8 shooting splits. Furthermore, Butler posted an impressive 9.1 win shares including 6.4 offensive win shares and a box plus-minus of 4.6 all of these stats ranked within the top 20. This past season saw Butler rely on free throws at a higher rate than anyone in the league.
However, a lack of availability marred Butler’s season; he played in 60 games, and many of his absences were load management-related. Butler was left off the All-Star team and didn’t make an All-NBA team for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Notably, Butler hasn’t played 65 or more regular season games since joining the Heat in 2019.
31.7% of Jimmy Butler’s points were scored from the FT line in ’23-’24, highest of any player in the NBA.
Jimmy drew FTs on 27.7% of his ISO possessions, most in the NBA. 27.6% of transition possessions. 10.3% of drives. 37.7% of his clutch points.
Jimmy FEASTS at the line. pic.twitter.com/YBzstue58O
— NBA University (@NBA_University) September 12, 2024
Season Outlook
Butler is facing a critical upcoming season, especially considering he is a 2025 free agent. Pat Riley openly criticized Butler’s approach to the regular season. Butler will need to be consistently available and productive throughout the regular season. While Butler has shown that he plays at a top-10 level during the playoffs, he must provide consistent star-level production in the regular season. Much of the East improved however, Miami is running it back with nearly an identical roster.
As a result, without a mid-season trade, it’s hard to imagine them being anything more than a play-in team. Butler is a brilliant playoff performer but another deep playoff run seems improbable. Overall there’s a strong chance this is Butler’s last season in South Beach and they decide to hand Bam Adebayo the keys to the franchise. Regardless at 35, there’s a lot Butler can do to prove he’s worth the heavily desired max contract to Miami or another team.
The Last Word
Out of all the players on this list, Butler arguably has the most to prove this upcoming season. This may sound counterintuitive given Butler’s career playoff success. However, Butler must be consistently available and produce at a star level in the regular season. If Butler and the Heat have a similar season he will likely move teams in free agency. Butler will likely get a max contract from someone it’s just a matter of whether that team is competitive and the length of the contract. Given Butler’s age, he will need a highly productive season to retain his spot among the NBA’s best.
