Miami Heat: Jimmy Butler Snubbed as All-Star Game starter

The Miami Heat star will not be a starter for the All-Star Game.

Jimmy Butler will almost certainly represent the Miami Heat in the 69^th edition of the All-Star Game. Held at the United Center in Chicago Illinois, this will be a homecoming of sorts for him.

However, he will not be a starter. Instead, unless Joel Embiid’s injury keeps him out of the contest — opening a spot in the frontcourt — he will be a reserve.

He played at the United Center frequently as a member of the Chicago Bulls from 2011-2017. Drafted by the Bulls with the 30^th overall pick in 2011, he had great success while there.

Butler has been having a career year, and it has shown with how well the Miami Heat have played. In 38 games, he has averaged 20.3 points per game. Averaging seven rebounds and 6.5 assists per contest, he is bringing a multifaceted game to the table.

He is also bringing veteran leadership to a roster full of youth. The Miami Heat have several young players that that could turn out to be cornerstones for the franchise. Right now, it is all about development. Butler has been instrumental in helping the team succeed on the court. The fact that he is not a starter for the All-Star Game is surprising. Charles Barkley was surprised with how voting went.

Jimmy Butler was 4th in front court fan vote.

Butler beat out Siakam for media.

Charles Barkley: “Jimmy Butler should be starting over anybody. And Bam Adebayo, he should have been in that conversation. If he’s not in the game, I’m not going to Chicago.”

— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) January 24, 2020

More Barkley here.

It’s strange to hear him stand up for anyone on the Heat, considering the constant jabs he always took at Dwyane Wade.

Charles Barkley makes the case for why @JimmyButler was snubbed from the East's #NBAAllStar Starters pic.twitter.com/wL782VxtmZ

— TurnerSportsPR (@TurnerSportsPR) January 24, 2020

For Butler, once he’s selected, it will be his fifth All-Star game. He was selected to be a part of the 2018 All-Star Game while with Philadelphia. However, he elected to rest instead as he was battling with injuries.

The Miami Heat are sitting pretty in the Eastern Conference. They are second in the conference, only to the Milwaukee Bucks. With a 27-12 record they have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season. The fact that he was sixth in player voting was surprising as well. However, Barkley offered a reason for why that occurred.

Why was Jimmy Butler 6th in player voting?

Charles Barkley:
“Because they don’t like him. They think he’s annoying.”

— Five Reasons Sports Network (@5ReasonsSports) January 24, 2020

Butler should have been a starter for this game, in light of the Heat’s success and his role in it. Nevertheless, the fact that that he will be a reserve is at least some sort of silver lining. It’s certainly unfortunate, but Butler could use this as more motivation.

And what about Bam Adebayo joining Butler as a reserve, as he should?

We’ll find out next week.

Players voted in Bam over Jimmy and media voted in both. Hmm

— alex toledo (@tropicalblanket) January 24, 2020