Grading Minnesota Timberwolves players at the All-Star break

#1 – Jimmy Butler

Grade: A+

22.4 points, 47.6 field goal percentage, 35.8 3-point percentage, 5.5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.4 blocks

What hasn’t Butler done for this organization this year? He’s single-handedly lifted this team to a victory in many, many games. He made the All-Star game again this year and he may win more. He’s in consideration to win the Most Valuable Player award, but it’s unlikely with all the other candidates involved.

He has helped the team in many late game situations and has become the leader of this team. Another thing that he’s been able to do is helping Wiggins improve. When Butler has been out, we’ve seen Wiggins absolutely ball out. You can tell that Butler has been a great mentor and has showed Wiggins the ropes of how to be a two-way player in the future.

Minnesota hasn’t been to the playoffs in over 13 years and it looks like it’s going to be coming to an end. Butler is a huge driving force towards that goal that has surrounded the fans and organization for a long time. He’s made some incredible plays this season that has left us in awe.

Butler is also one of the top players in the win shares department. According to Basketball Reference, Butler is sixth in the NBA with 8.6 win shares. The players that are ahead of him are the players that are most likely to be the top MVP candidate. Incidentally, Towns is ahead of him and is second on that list with 10.2.win shares — only behind James Harden.

Next: 5 things the Timberwolves need to do to grab the No. 3 seed

Butler has been a big reason the Wolves are on their way to making the playoffs. It’s been an incredible season, and it’s surely looks like it’s going to continue after the All-Star break.