Miami Heat veteran P.J. Tucker recently had some major praise for his teammate Jimmy Butler.
Tucker believes that Butler is one of the “most unselfish” superstar players in the NBA, and he thinks that has played a major role in Miami’s success this season.
“To me, I think he’s one of the most unselfish superstars in the NBA,” Tucker said of Butler. “It’s unbelievable. He literally tells me games he doesn’t want to score. He’s like, ‘Just be ready. I’m going to pass you the ball.’ That’s just his mind-set, and he still will play defense and do all the other great things that he does. He’s super unselfish and wants to see us succeed and play well. When you have that kind of unselfishness, it makes it easy. It really does.”
There’s no doubt that Butler’s mentality has fit right in with the Heat, as he led them to an NBA Finals appearance in his first season with the team during the 2019-20 campaign. While the Heat took a step back in the 2020-21 campaign, they have shown they are one of the best teams in the league this season.
Butler has helped lead Miami to the best record in the Eastern Conference so far this season, as the Heat are 31-17 heading into Friday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.
This season, Butler is averaging 21.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field.
While Butler is arguably Miami’s best player, he doesn’t command a ton of shots, attempting just 14.7 field goals per game. He is also a willing passer at all times.
That has helped the Heat get outstanding campaigns from a variety of players this season, which has been a major key to success.
Tucker is shooting a career-best 46.9 percent from beyond the arc this season. That’s the best mark in the league at the moment. He’s enjoying an impressive campaign, and it’s clear that he appreciates the impact Butler has made.
The Heat are hoping that Butler can keep up his high level of play and leadership to lead them to the NBA Finals again this season.
