Miami Heat: Who’s been more of an MVP, Jimmy Butler or Chris Paul?
The Miami Heat and the OKC Thunder are having amazing seasons behind Jimmy Butler and Chris Paul, but only one can be the victor here.
When thinking about the question at hand here, who has been more of an MVP for their team this season, it isn’t a simple answer.
After coming over to their current teams, the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder respectively, neither team was thought of as a team with serious hopes to compete. They both obviously had different plans though.
Not only does it seem like their current scenarios worked out better for them, but it seems like that because it’s true. They are both proverbial underdogs and thus, thrive when put in those types of scenarios, situations, or positions.
In order to determine who’s been more of an MVP to their team and after looking at how similar their years have been when you look at the factors that have led us here, you take a look at the raw numbers.
When it comes to team record, the Miami Heat sit just ahead of the Thunder. That’s a notch for Jimmy Butler.
You then take a look at their individual statistics. At 20.2 points per game, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game for Jimmy Butler, compared to 17.7 points, 6.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals for Chris Paul, Butler wins there too. He’s having a better statistical year for his team.
You then look at what’s around them. While Butler does have quite the chest of tools at his disposal, he doesn’t have the firepower and muscle that CP3 has over there in Steven Adams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dennis Schroder, and a player that the Miami Heat wanted at this past trade deadline in Danilo Gallinari, among a few others.
When considering Jimmy’s role with his team, as the do-everything star player who has admirably filled in where needed, it has been greater than what Chris Paul has been asked to do. With guys like Gallinari and SGA there to help take the pressure off of him, he has the privilege of being able to float or play off of others a great deal of the time. Jimmy does not.
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So, while it may seem like our bias at work here, the answer is Jimmy Butler. Because of his team success, his statistical superiority, his lack of as much firepower and talent around him, and his role with his team, Jimmy Butler has been more of an MVP to his team than Chris Paul has to his, and even if only by a slight bit.