Jimmy Butler's dominant playoff run puts him in Hall of Fame conversation

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was a dominant force in these playoffs, and he should get Hall of Fame consideration at this point.

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler came one 3-pointer shy of potentially reaching a second NBA Finals in three seasons, but that shouldn't take away from his incredible effort throughout the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Outside of a couple clunkers in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Butler was arguably the best player in the entire postseason before bowing out.

Even with those duds while playing hurt in Games 4 and 5, Butler averaged 27.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 50.6% from the field and 33.8% from 3-point range in 17 playoff games. He hit the 40-point mark four times and scored a playoff career-high 47 points on the road in Game 6 in Boston. He added 35 more in Game 7 but fell just short when he missed that controversial 3-point attempt.

Butler showed why he's one of the best two-way players in the NBA and a superstar-caliber player. While his box-score numbers haven't always screamed superstar over the years, he consistently makes a superstar impact when he's on the court, even if he can be a pain in the butt to deal with at times. He blossomed into a star with the Chicago Bulls, helped end the Minnesota Timberwolves' lengthy playoff drought, nearly helped the Philadelphia 76ers to the Eastern Conference Finals, got the Heat to the 2020 NBA Finals and then nearly got them to the 2022 NBA Finals.

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With this latest deep playoff run, Jimmy Butler added to an impressive career resume (Most Improved Player, six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, five-time All-Defensive) that has sparked discussion about a potential induction into the Hall of Fame in the future. His lack of big-time scoring numbers (17.7 career PPG) will hurt the six-time All-Star, as will the lack of a championship to this point. But his consistent high-level impact over the years and historic playoff performances, including deep in the postseason, are points for him. And despite drama at several of his stops, Butler is well-respected by many and viewed as a big-game player.

On the latest episode of Blue Wire's Cash Considerations podcast, Ricky O'Donnell made Butler's Hall of Fame case:

“What a remarkable player Jimmy Butler is. At this point, I mean, he's a Hall of Famer. Let's start there. … Consistent greatness in the postseason … we saw it in the bubble, we saw it here. 40-point games in the playoffs reliably. People always overlook defense in these discussions. If you were going to say who has had a better career: Carmelo Anthony or Jimmy Butler? Carmelo Anthony is, of course, a shoo-in to make the Hall of Fame. Perhaps you point to his international career, winning four* gold medals with Team USA as well. … You can even include Carmelo's national championship at Syracuse as a freshman. But as an NBA player, I think I'm going Jimmy despite the fact that Carmelo has the higher offensive ceiling.”

*Melo actually has three Olympic gold medals and an Olympic bronze, while Butler has one Olympic gold

I still have my doubts about Jimmy Butler's Hall of Fame candidacy and thinks he needs at least a few more big-time seasons to be a lock, but he's at least putting himself in the conversation. For what it's worth, Basketball Reference currently gives Butler about a 71% chance to make the Hall of Fame.