While Winslow, Richardson, and Jones Jr. are all top tier defensive players, none are quite Jimmy Butler yet. As also mentioned earlier, we are talking about a four-time NBA All-Defensive teamer, albeit on the second team.
While the three mentioned are all great when it comes to the purely physical aspect of defending, most importantly Winslow and Jones Jr. because they are still members of the Miami Heat, none of them come with that built-in reputation and fear that a great defender can instill in an offensive player’s mind. Jimmy Butler can, will, and does instill that fear. It doesn’t hurt that he does it all with a certain brazenness, which leads nicely into the next aspect.
Attitude
This mentality of “brazenness” that we spoke of basically translates to and manifests itself on the court in the appearance of attitude. Butler at times seems like one of the most soft-spoken, nicely mannered, and fun-loving guys to be around when he speaks or interacts with people, but this often never occurs between the lines of the hardwood.
Even when talking to his own teammates a lot of the times, he seems to have this certain smug mug about him. Whether he is always ticked off or not, he always appears that way.
This is also the mentality he plays the game with, a real nasty streak so to speak. The Miami Heat are known to play with a certain effort, disregard, and intensity as a unit, but Butler plays with that same disregard of the opponent as an individual. This should be a welcomed sight for the Miami Heat as they haven’t had anything resembling an intimidation factor since before Hassan Whiteside signed his big deal, where he seemingly blocked or tried to block everything in sight.