Top 10 Chicago Bulls of the 21st century

3. Jimmy Butler

What can I say about Jimmy Butler? He was a humble kid coming out of Marquette. He was not talked about too often when it came to a discussion of his upcoming draft class. Looked at mainly as a lockdown defender and mediocre scorer, Butler came into the NBA with a perception that he’d quickly change.

Under Tom Thibodeau, Butler would see little action as a rookie in 2011. He only appeared in 42 games and played only eight minutes per game. In 2012, as a sophomore, his playing time was pumped up a bit as he played 26 minutes per night and averaged 8.6 points per game to go along with four rebounds.

It wasn’t until his third season that you saw Thibodeau throw Butler into the fire — and boy, did he ever. Butler averaged nearly 39 minutes per game and put up 13 points to go with just under five rebounds per game.

His fourth year, he took a leap as he averaged 20 points, 5.8 rebounds 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. From there on out, people had to fear Butler on both ends of the court, not just as a defender.

Butler was as good as it gets defensively, being one of a select few who could go toe-to-toe with LeBron and manage to throw him off at times. Under-appreciated and under-valued, Butler was shipped to Minnesota for Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn last offseason — however, he will always remember who made him into the player he is today.

Butler and Thibodeau made magic happen, and under this next guy’s wing, he developed into a budding star while in Chicago.