The Bulls are back on top this season after finishing four straight seasons above No. 10 in the East. The contributions of Nikola Vucevic then DeMar DeRozan to support Zach LaVine ended up paying off, so much so that Chicago is currently in the fight with Miami for the first place in their conference, the two teams posting an equivalent record of 38 successes for 21 losses at the break.
On the Heat side, a player is particularly happy to see the Bulls back at the top of the bill. Jimmy Butler has indeed made his mark in Illinois, where he has asserted himself over the years as a “franchise player” by dint of work, before continuing his journey with the Wolves, the Sixers, then in Florida.
“Chicago has always been an attractive destination. They deserve it. I think the Bulls are legendary. They have very, very good players. DeMar (DeRozan) played at an incredible level. He’s been playing at this level for a long time now too. But they deserve to win. They deserve a title like everyone else, and as I always tell you, I have a lot of love for this city, and I always will. I’m happy they’re back on top again.”he said.
DeMar DeRozan, his most worthy successor
The only representative of his franchise at the All-Star Game where Chicago will present himself with two elements (DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine), Jimmy Butler spoke in particular about the arrival of his successor, in the profile and the impact that brings to this team by improving an already competitive group: DeMar DeRozan.
“Every time you add a player like DeMar to your team, it will improve significantly”, he added. “They already had a bunch of key players to make sense of it all, and I think they’re playing at an incredibly high level right now. They’re playing one of the best sneakers we’ve seen this year, plus they’ve been hit with the injury bug. This is all the crazier. I think the guys are really focused on what they’re doing. That’s usually what happens when you add really good players to a team.”
| Jimmy Butler | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2011-12 | CHI | 42 | 9 | 40.5 | 18.2 | 76.8 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
| 2012-13 | CHI | 82 | 26 | 46.7 | 38.1 | 80.3 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 8.6 |
| 2013-14 | CHI | 67 | 39 | 39.7 | 28.3 | 76.9 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 13.1 |
| 2014-15 | CHI | 65 | 39 | 46.2 | 37.8 | 83.4 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 5.8 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2015-16 | CHI | 67 | 37 | 45.5 | 31.1 | 83.2 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 20.9 |
| 2016-17 | CHI | 76 | 37 | 45.5 | 36.7 | 86.5 | 1.7 | 4.5 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 23.9 |
| 2017-18 | MIN | 59 | 37 | 47.4 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 22.2 |
| 2018-19 * | All Teams | 65 | 34 | 46.2 | 34.7 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2018-19 * | PHL | 55 | 33 | 46.1 | 33.8 | 86.8 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 18.2 |
| 2018-19 * | MIN | 10 | 36 | 47.1 | 37.8 | 78.7 | 1.6 | 3.6 | 5.2 | 4.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 21.3 |
| 2019-20 | MIA | 58 | 34 | 45.5 | 24.4 | 83.4 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 6.7 | 6.0 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 52 | 34 | 49.7 | 24.5 | 86.3 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 21.5 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 40 | 34 | 47.8 | 19.2 | 89.6 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 6.4 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 21.8 |
| Total | 673 | 33 | 45.9 | 32.1 | 84.2 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 17.6 | |
