PHOENIX — Jimmy Butler’s numbers this season are comparable to only one other player in Chicago Bulls history — Michael Jordan.
As Butler, who is expected to play after missing the past three games because of a right heel injury, enters Friday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), an in-depth glance into the 27-year-old’s performance reveals just how dominant he has been so far this season.
Butler is currently averaging 24.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, no other player this season — not LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or James Harden — can match all four averages.
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It’s the next line in the numbers briefing that is even more eye-popping.
The only player in Bulls history to maintain those numbers for a full season is Jordan, who did it four times (1988-89, 1989-90, 1992-93, 1994-95).
Like many kids, Butler looked up to Jordan when he was younger, but in recent years Butler has developed a friendship with the Hall of Famer. Butler endorses Jordan Brand apparel and gets to see the NBA legend a few times a year.
“He always told me to never stop working,” Butler told ESPN.com recently. “And I just remember saying that’s one thing you never got to worry about [with me]. I’m always pushing to be better, to be great. So when he told me that I was like, you know what? Maybe I’ll be all right because I think that’s one trait I got, I got now.”
Butler’s dedication to his craft is something that has drawn praise from all corners of the league. He works throughout the year with trainers Chris Johnson and Travelle Gaines to keep his game sharp. It was that work ethic and determination that helped bring Butler and Jordan even closer.
“When you work, it doesn’t go unnoticed because you continue to get better,” Butler said. “You continue to be confident — you’re smiling — and that’s what everybody sees.”
Butler’s drive to be even better every season has put him in some rarefied company during the 2016-17 campaign. The only players who have maintained those numbers for an entire season are some of the greatest who have ever played the game. Jordan (four times), LeBron (three times), Clyde Drexler (three times), Larry Bird (twice), Westbrook, Kobe Bryant and Rick Barry.
Only three Bulls in history have ever averaged 24 points a game or more. Jordan did it 12 times, Bob Love did it twice, Derrick Rose did it once during his 2010-11 MVP season and Butler is on pace to do it now. Butler scored 52 points in a Jan. 2 win over the Charlotte Hornets, the second time in his career he has scored at least 50 in a game. Butler has done that more than any other player in Bulls’ history besides Jordan, who did it 38 times.
Butler has also racked up three games this season with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds. The only player to do that more often in a Bulls season is, of course, Jordan. He had seven such games during the 1988-89 campaign.
One of the most crucial differences in Butler’s play this season is his ability to get to the foul line. He currently ranks fourth in the league with 9.5 free throw attempts per game. Only Jordan has averaged more free throws a game in franchise history. His highest average was 11.8 attempts a game during the 1986-87 season.
“I think his offensive game has matured,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of Butler. “I think he’s always been — everything has started with his toughness, competitiveness, and now it’s his shooting. But I think as much as anything it’s his individual offense. His ability to get separation, his use of the shot fake. In this league, when you’re averaging 24 [points] a night, and you’re getting to the free-throw line nine times a game you have skill.
“You’re clever, you know how to draw fouls and his use of the shot fake actually reminds me a lot of Dwyane Wade, who still does the same thing. Sometimes when he first gets the ball, sometimes it’s after the dribble. They create space, they get a defender off balance and they’re living at the line. And that’s how you become a guy that can average that many points.”
Wade’s mentorship of Butler has been well-documented. But one of the biggest things Wade has helped Butler with is being even more comfortable in late-game situations. Butler is averaging seven points per game in the fourth quarter and getting to the line 2.8 times a game in the final frame, which is good for fourth in the league behind only Westbrook, Isaiah Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins.
Wade believes the difference is in Butler’s “confidence.”
“Late in games: it’s a mentality,” Wade said. “First of all to be aggressive. And don’t worry about the outcome while you’re in the process. You can’t worry about, ‘Oh, if I miss this shot, if I make this shot,’ you just got to go play. And when the ball’s in your hand, it’s your job to decide what you want to do.”
That mentality shows late in games when he is driving to the rim and comfortable in knocking down free throws. Butler has already attempted 10 or more free throws in a game 26 times this year and made 10 or more free throws in a game 19 times this year. Only Jordan has higher marks in the Bulls’ record books.
“In this league it’s a fine line between OK players and good players, and a lot of it is confidence,” Wade said. “Jimmy has turned himself into a very good player in this league because of the work he’s put in and now his confidence is soaring to a different level.”
Butler has grown more comfortable in his role as the face of the organization as the season has gone on. The only thing that really makes him uncomfortable is being compared to Jordan in any way.
Butler’s numbers are doing the talking for him, and like Jordan, he wants the ball in his hands when the game matters most.
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