Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler’s spot is unveiled in ESPN’s top 100 list

ESPN’s top 100 NBA players list has worked its way down to just 10 players left. On Wednesday, Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat learned his spot on the list.

ESPN’s annual top 100 list released its next chapter on Wednesday, unveiling the 11th through 30th players, after releasing 100 to 51 on Monday and 50 to 31 on Tuesday. Two Miami Heat players have already made the list, with Justise Winslow placing 94th and Bam Adebayo placing 81st. Next to learn his spot on the list was Jimmy Butler, and he made Wednesday’s group.

Butler checked in at 21st on the list, down from last year’s 13th. This is perhaps a result of a tumultuous season in 2018-19 in which he missed time with injury and forced a trade away from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Philadelphia 76ers.

With the Sixers, he was less of a lead dog than he has been over the past few years, playing third fiddle to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. That usage decline may also be reflected in his ranking dip, perhaps setting him up for a rebound season in 2019-20.

According to Brian Windhorst:

"Can he stay healthy? The Heat have a style that leads them to play so many close games. Butler is a game-changer in these moments; he could be worth five wins based on his clutch ability alone. However, he has to be on the floor to do it. He’s missed an average of 16 games per year over the past six seasons, and he just turned 30."

The Miami Heat will certainly take a major hit when Jimmy Butler misses time, which he likely will. They sacrificed depth to acquire him not just in sending Josh Richardson back to the Sixers, but in their ability to restock on the fly if they are hit by injuries.

Thanks to the hard cap which was activated as a result of the sign-and-trade that was used to acquire him, they are severely restricted if they try to sign free agents or make trades. This means that Butler is not just worth a lot to them on the floor, but basically devastating if and when he misses games.

As with most veterans in the NBA who have histories of injury issues, health is the key to Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat having a successful season and improving on this ranking of 21.