Your Miami HEAT announced today that they have re-signed forward Jimmy Butler to a contract extension. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Jimmy is the anchor and face of our franchise along with Bam and Kyle,” said HEAT President Pat Riley. “With Jimmy, we get an All-NBA player, an All-NBA Defensive player, tough as nails and a complete player across the board. He’s very deserving of this contract as he continually puts himself at the top of the league at his position. Having him in the HEAT organization has been a great, great coup for us.”
The All-NBA Third Team recipient started all 52 games in which he appeared last season and averaged a team-leading 21.5 points, a team-best 7.1 assists, 6.9 rebounds and an NBA-leading 2.08 steals in 33.6 minutes while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 86.3 percent from the foul line. Also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, Butler became the first HEAT player in franchise history to lead the league in steals per game and his 86.3 percent shooting from the foul line was the third-highest single season percentage in team history. He shot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe in 14-straight games from April 3 – May 2 and recorded nine-straight multi-steal games from March 31 – April 16, both the longest such streaks in team history. Butler set single-season career highs in field goal percentage, rebounds per game, assists per game and steals per game and ranked among NBA leaders in total steals (2nd), scoring average (26th), free throws made (9th) and attempted (11th), assists per game (10th), assists per turnover (10th), steals per turnover (12th), total assists (18th), efficiency (24th), minutes per game (29th) and rebounds per game (36th). He led the HEAT in scoring average, double-figure scoring quarters (28), 20-point games, 30-point games, free throws made and attempted, free throw percentage, assists, steals, triple-doubles and plus/minus (+196) and ranked second on the team in points, double-figure scoring efforts, field goals made and attempted, three-point plays, double-figure rebound efforts, offensive, defensive and total rebounds and double-doubles. He also scored in double figures 50 times, including 30 games with at least 20 points and five 30-point performances. Additionally, Butler grabbed double-figure rebounds a career-high 11 times, handed out double-figure assists on 10 occasions and posted four triple-doubles this season. His four triple-doubles tie for the most during a single season in team history, including three-straight from February 15-18, to become the first player in HEAT history to record consecutive triple-doubles with two of those coming on a back-to-back road set to become just the 11th player in NBA history to achieve that feat.
A five-time NBA All-Star, Butler has appeared in 633 games (528 starts) during his 10-year NBA career and averaged 17.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.63 steals and 33.1 minutes while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor, 32.7 percent from behind the arc and 83.8 percent from the foul line. He is Miami’s all-time leader in free throw percentage and also ranks among the HEAT’s all-time leaders in triple-doubles (2nd), scoring average (3rd), free throws made (14th), free throw attempts (17th), double-doubles (tied-18th) and assists (19th). In 80 NBA postseason games (77 starts), he has averaged 18.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.60 steals and 37.6 minutes while shooting 44.2 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from three-point range and 83.6 percent from the foul line