If Jimmy Butler retired today, would he make the Hall of Fame?
Jimmy Butler still has plenty left in the tank, but his candidacy for the Basketball Hall of Fame is an interesting proposition.
The Miami Heat star has had success everywhere he has been but is still in search of an elusive NBA championship that has escaped him for the entirety of his career. However, that might be the only negative blemish on his career portfolio. From Minnesota to Miami, the former Marquette Golden Eagle has proven to be one of the league's most complete players over the last decade.
Per Butler's statistics and career nominations, he is a better scorer than Kevin Garnett and a better defender than Karl Malone. Basketball Reference rates his HOF chances at 73.3%.
Jimmy Buckets is all about improvement
Jimmy Butler improved his scoring output in each of his first six seasons in the NBA. He went mainly from being a defensive stopper at Marquette to a legitimate scoring threat in the league.
Butler averaged 2.6 points per game as a rookie ith the Chicago Bulls in 2011-12 to averaging 23.9 ppg in his final season in Chicago in 2016-2017. This season with Heat, Butler is had the second-best scoring average of his career (22.7 ppg). His career average of 18.1 ppg ranks better than Hall of Famers such as Kevin Garnett, Gary Payton and Scottie Pippen.
Aside from his rookie season and second season, Butler has averaged over 33 minutes per game in every season. The Houston native can still play as long as he needs to any given night.
Butler has also gone from shooting 40.5% as a rookie to 53.3% in his age 33 season this year.
Butler has turned himself into a legendary player because of his work ethic and desire to get better each and every season.
Butler's career portfolio
Simply put, Butler has had a career that most NBA players do not.
Bulter has been named an All-Star six times, including four consecutive appearances from 2015-2018. He is also one of the best defensive players of the last decade as a five-time All-Defensive team member. That is more than Karl Malone, Horace Grant and Larry Bird.
Butler is also an Olympic gold medalist (2016). These types of players do not come around all that often. His 2015 Most Improved Player Award is proof of that.
Jimmy Buckets still has it. He's averaging 33.3 mpg and 22.7 ppg, along with a career-high defensive rating of 111, this season. The former Tyler Junior College player is quite possibly an NBA championship away from being a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame.