Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler is taking his play to another level in the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
Though people have doubted for many years that Butler can be the best player on a championship-winning team, Butler is currently looking like the best player on the planet right now.
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday, Butler systematically broke down the Boston Celtics on both sides of the court.
On offense, he was electric. On defense, he was stifling.
It seems his performance in Game 1 and his many other brilliant playoff outings thus far have led former basketball player and current NBA analyst Jay Williams to make a dramatic claim about the Heat star.
“So look, I’m ready to do this,” he said. “And it’s wild that I’m doing this, but I’m gonna do it. So, Jimmy Butler’s name belongs in the same breath with Michael Jordan. Crazy, right? As the only players in a single postseason averaging 28 points per game, five assists, two steals on 50-plus percent shooting from the field.
“I just want you to think about that for a second, Key. We just said Jimmy Butler’s name in the same breath with M.J. for what this dude is doing in this postseason.”
Williams went on to claim that this metric alone proves that Butler can absolutely be the best player to lead a team to a championship.
He likely didn’t have to tell many fans in South Florida that. They’ve known that for a while.
With just three wins left to go before the Heat advance to their second NBA Finals under Butler’s leadership, it could only be a matter of weeks before the rest of the world knows that too.