Jimmy Butler's career defining performance in the Heat's Game 3 win over the Lakers proves he's a superstar.
When Jimmy Butler showed up to the bubble he said it was a business trip, and he’s been all business ever since. From coffee to the court. And following a career-defining performance in game 3 of the NBA Finals, Jimmy Buckets proved to the world that he is a true superstar.
As in a game featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Butler was clearly the best player on the floor. In many ways Butler was reminiscent of James in the way he played, dissecting the Lakers' defense as a scorer and a distributor while outplaying the King head to head to the point where LeBron could head to the locker room early.
All in all, Jimmy put up a 40 point triple-double becoming the only player to ever out point, rebound, and assist James in an NBA Finals game.
The best part about it? He could care less about those stats. As I’ve said before, Jimmy doesn’t give a damn about numbers, which is why I've previously put him on my All-NBA first team if the goal is simply winning, and why his head coach Erik Spoelstra said he’s in the top percentile of competitors.
But it’s about time people recognize his ability to hoop is right up there with his desire to compete. As shown by his carrying of an undermanned Heat squad, and adapting his game to give the team what it needs. Scoring, rebounding, distributing, defending, competing...you get it all from the bubble’s resident barista.
This is why even if the Lakers aren’t in trouble in the series, any team that is going against Jimmy Butler is going to have trouble dealing with him.
You know, like is the case when you are facing an NBA superstar.