But he's become one of six players in NBA history to play at least 100 playoff games and average more points, rebounds and assists and shoot better in the playoffs than in the regular season, along with Hakeem Olajuwon, James Worthy, Ben Wallace, Robert Horry and Bryon Russell. "Y'all see sparks of it during the regular season and he's one of those players in the playoffs, he can turn it on."īutler didn't always turn into "Playoff Jimmy." In his first playoff experience as a rookie for the 2012 Bulls, he played a total of four minutes across three games and didn't take a single shot. "This is the Jimmy everybody always waits for at the end of the year," Heat big man Bam Adebayo said. It was the most points anyone had scored in the final two games of a playoff series in NBA history. In doing so, Butler became the fifth player in NBA postseason history to score 98 points or more in a two-game span, the first since Jordan did it in 1993. According to ESPN Stats & Information, his 56 points were the most in a 15-point comeback victory since Jordan also had 56 in a game against the Heat in the first round in 1992.īutler followed that up with 42 points in a closeout victory over the Bucks to give the Heat a 4-1 series win and make them just the sixth 8-seed to beat a No. His 56 points were tied for the fourth-most ever in a playoff game - only Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Donovan Mitchell have scored more. The Heat trailed 68-67 entering the fourth quarter, but Butler scored 13 of his 31 points in the final 12 minutes to secure the first-round matchup with the Bucks, and since then "Playoff Jimmy" has been on full display.Īfter averaging 30 points in the first three games of the first round, Butler posted a Game 4 for the history books. 7 seed but lost the first game to the Atlanta Hawks - sending the Hawks to a first-round series against the second-seeded Boston Celtics, and sending Miami to a win-or-go-home game against the Chicago Bulls - the team that drafted Butler 11 years ago. The Heat found themselves in the NBA play-in tournament as the No. ONE MONTH AGO, "Playoff Jimmy" was almost done before he got a chance to get started. He sets the tone for us every single night and it's just a beautiful thing to be a part of." "It's an amazing thing to watch," Heat forward Kevin Love told ESPN. And his Heat are one win away from becoming the second 8-seed ever to reach the conference finals, thanks in large part to the heroics of Butler, who has annually raised his game as well as any player in the NBA. I just be hooping."īutler might not believe in "Playoff Jimmy" - the extra level he takes his game to when the calendar turns to April, May and June, but it's getting harder and harder to believe that he "just be hooping."īutler, who averaged 22.9 points in the regular season, has posted an incredible 31.9 per game in the playoffs, second-highest among any player still alive in the postseason. "It's not a thing," the 33-year-old Heat star insisted. He shook his head as he answered with a smile on his face.Īfter dropping a franchise playoff record 56 points to lead the 8-seed Miami Heat to a Game 4 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the team with the best record in the NBA in the regular season, was Butler finally ready to admit that the "Playoff Jimmy" phenomenon was real? JIMMY BUTLER STARTED smirking before the question was even done being asked. NBA playoffs 2023: The 'Playoff Jimmy' phenomenon is real and it's a spectacle to behold You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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