Jimmy Butler does not believe in "Playoff Jimmy."
At the podium moments after scoring the fourth-most points in NBA Playoff history, the Heat forward was asked about his nickname.
“It’s not a thing. It’s not. I just be hooping.”
After their Game 5 win over the Milwaukee Bucks to book the Heat's spot in the second round, it's safe to say Butler might be wrong about this one.
The 33-year-old wrote another scintillating chapter in his playoff career, dropping 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals, including the bucket at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.
If Butler's denial of "Playoff Jimmy" sounds familiar, it’s because Rajon Rondo — aka "Playoff Rondo" — also famously batted down his well-earned moniker. He dismissed the nickname to Marc Stein, calling it a myth. “There’s no such thing as ‘Playoff Rondo,'" he said in 2018.
Back then, I nerded out and checked to see if "Playoff Rondo" was a real thing. (Spoiler alert: It was… emphatically.)
With "Playoff Jimmy" out here breaking records held by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade against the prohibitive NBA title favorites, it’s time to once more revisit the conversation about which players step up their game most in the playoffs.
And among all current players, there is one who rises above all.
First, some quick methodology. If you want to skip past this part, just click here and it’ll take you straight to the good stuff.
Since Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls, there are 192 players who have logged at least 1,500 minutes in the playoffs. I looked at all 192 of them and then compared their playoff stats to their regular season stats. For the purposes of this exercise, I’m keeping it simple: points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and effective field goal percentage.
Are there tons of fancy all-in-one stats readily available? Yes. But immediately after watching Jimmy Butler annihilate the Bucks, were you immediately raving in disbelief about his RPM, BPM, VORP or RAPTOR? I didn’t think so.
Do the best players log more minutes, dominate the ball more often and thus typically see an increase in basic box score stats? Sometimes… though not as much as you might think! (More on that in a minute).
With my trusty cave-man stats handy and much to the chagrin of my beloved fellow statheads, I poured through our pool of 192 players to see how many improved in every category.
This is not a list of the best playoff performers. This is not a list of who I would most want in a playoff game. It’s simply a snapshot of who gets better across the board statistically.
- Total players: 192
- At least one category better: 149
- At least two better: 106
- At least three better: 65
- At least four better: 28
- At least five better: 14
- All six categories better: 1
Without further ado…
Which NBA players get worse in the playoffs?
Before trying to
What does 'Himmy Butler' mean?Among the active players, one stands out taller than all others: Joel Embiid.
That’s right, the likely (and deserving!) 2023 NBA MVP, who has not once advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, has worse per-game averages across the board. Consider this your casual reminder that the MVP is a regular season award.
Nikola Jokic vs. Joel Embiid playoff stats
What, you thought this was a safe space?
While we’re briefly on the topic of Embiid, it’s only right to mention that among our entire pool of players, nobody sees an increase in scoring more than Nikola Jokic. His playoff career average of 26.4 is 6.2 points higher than in the regular season, unlike Embiid whose scoring has dipped by 3.4. So far in his career, Jokic improves in three of our six categories.
Here’s a look at the other biggest playoff jumps in each category:
Biggest Jump in Playoffs Stat Player Diff Points Nikola Jokic +6.2 Rebounds Dirk Nowitzki +2.5 Assists Tobias Harris +1.1 Steals Baron Davis +0.5 Blocks Draymond Green +0.4 eFG pct Raja Bell +8.2% Draymond Green — famous for coining the term "16-game player" — appropriately raises the bar defensively. Real recognizes real and such was the case on Butler’s big night with the Warriors defensive ace locked into "Playoff Jimmy."
Say or feel what you want about Jimmy… ANIMAL!!! Double Nickel! And counting
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) April 25, 2023In fact, Green is one of the select members of our group who gets better in at least five statistical categories.
Why "Playoff Jimmy" is the new "Playoff Rondo"
The list of players who get better in at least five categories is a “who’s who” of big-time playoff performers. Finals MVPs, clutch shot makers, dynamic two-way players and meme-tastic LeBron foils.
And only six active players make the cut including a Finals MVP, an MVP, two more Defensive Players of the Year, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris.
Better in 5 Categories Retired Active Baron Davis Jimmy Butler Luol Deng Draymond Green Richard Hamilton Tobias Harris Robert Horry Kawhi Leonard Dirk Nowitzki Derrick Rose Tayshaun Prince Marcus Smart Rajon Rondo Lance Stephenson When I first did this exercise back in 2018, I used turnovers instead of effective field goal percentage. If you still use those original criteria, the only player who goes 6-6 and improves in every facet: "Playoff Rondo."
It's fitting that Rondo and Butler were both teammates in Chicago and later NBA Finals rivals in the playoff bubble.
Given the increased usage for star players on the biggest stage, it feels unfair to expect turnovers to stagnate or decline when the load becomes heavier. That’s even more true in 2023 than it was in 2018.
To get with times — and to recognize the higher volume of 3s — I'm instead swapping in effective field goal percentage as our sixth category. When making that switch, one name replaces Playoff Rondo as the one player who elevates his game and gets better across the board.
Playoff Jimmy.
