The deal is done.
On Saturday, the HEAT announced that they have acquired Jimmy Butler and Meyers Leonard in a four-team trade that also involved Hassan Whiteside, Josh Richardson and Maurice Harkless.
Now that Butler is finally a member of the Miami HEAT, let’s get into 10 things you need to know about Biscayne Bucke…err…Jimmy G Buckets.
1. He’s An Underdog
Not highly touted out of high school, Butler overcame numerous obstacles growing up and showed out at Tyler Junior College in Texas before heading to Marquette. While a member of the Golden Eagles, Butler improved each year and emerged as a leader by the time he entered the NBA Draft.
2. He’s Earned Plenty of Accolades
It took Butler some time to make his mark in the league, but boy did he ever.
Not only has the 29-year-old been named to the All-Star Team and the All-Defensive Second Team four times apiece and the All-NBA Third Team twice, but he also won the Most Improved Player Award in 2015.
3. He’s Boys With A Guy We All Know
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know by now that Butler and Dwyane Wade are pretty good friends. Naturally, the Marquette connection has a lot to do with that, but both guys having to rise from the ashes to make it to the NBA likely plays a role as well.
4. He’s Clutch
Much like Wade, Butler has a penchant for coming through when it matters most. In fact, the swingman has shot 203-of-481 (42.2 percent) in the clutch (last five minutes of a game within five points) throughout his career, including the postseason.
What’s more, the 76ers outscored the opposition by 8.9 points per 100 possessions when Butler was on the floor in the clutch during the regular season last year. Of course, Butler’s 60.0 true shooting percentage in those instances was also a big reason why.
5. He Gets It Done In The Postseason
Part of being clutch is performing at your best once the playoffs roll around.
After a few solid postseasons with the Bulls, Butler had his coming out party in 2015 and averaged a team-high 22.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and a team-high 2.4 steals in 12 games. He also started to make a name for himself down the stretch, as he shot 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) in the clutch during Chicago’s playoff run.
More recently, the Houstonian emptied the tank against the Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals and nearly knocked off the eventual champs.
6. He Has Four Triple-Doubles
Although the Bulls narrowly missed the playoffs in 2016, Butler did all he could to try and make it happen during the last month of the season.
The result?
Two triple-doubles in April against the Pistons and 76ers, respectively. The following year, he would record two more versus the Cavaliers and 76ers, separately.
7. He’s Well-Conditioned
One of the cooler metrics that the NBA tracks with SportVu technology is speed and distance.
And since the 2013-14 season, Butler has ranked among the league’s elite in miles traveled per game at 2.65.
So yeah, he’ll definitely fit in with the culture.
8. He’s A Tenacious Defender
Speaking of culture, we all know that defense is paramount to the HEAT.
Over the past three seasons, Butler has averaged 3.4 deflections per game and has held the opposition to 1.3 percentage points lower than their usual field goal percentage.
That’s impressive.
9. He’s A Fan Of Country Music
Being from Houston, Butler enjoys country music.
Like really enjoys it.
He’s such a big fan that he was featured in Luke Bryan’s “Light It Up” music video.
10. He Plays Dominoes
This photo says it all:
Long story short, Miami seems like a perfect fit for Butler in more ways than one.