Jimmy Butler does things Wolves fans aren’t used to.

Between the gutty performances, the vocality on defense, the intangible will to win, and the straight up winning, Butler has won the Timberwolves fanbase over in ways that haven’t existed since a certain Big Ticket was rocking the tree-trimmed jerseys in the early-to-mid 2000s.

After starting the season mainly as a shot-frugal distributor, he’s taken over the team’s scoring load, all while continuing to handle distributor duties.

December was his true breaking point, but his time back in the scoring limelight happened in mid-November.

 
That statistical jump is massive, matching up with the vision Tom Thibodeau had when they acquired him on draft night.

But is it good enough to get him into the 2018 All-Star game in Los Angeles?  In the Western Conference, it won’t be easy, but it is doable. Maybe even probable.

Let’s start by looking at how he’s won over his new team.

The Wolves are 19-13, fourth in the Western Conference, and on the heels of third-place San Antonio because Butler has assumed the role of alpha wolf.

“That’s Jimmy Butler right there,” Tom Thibodeau, Butler’s long-time head coach, said after Monday’s win against Portland. “It’s the toughness that he brings on every possession. Special player.”

Thibodeau has seen Butler come up from benchwarmer to superstar as his head coach. In many ways, he’s the player that most resembles what Thibodeau looks for in a player: Hustle-driven, strong vocal contributor and a defensive wizard.

He has played through illness, through back injuries and through big minutes. He hasn’t let it affect the way he plays.

“I ride for everyone in this locker room. I’m going to battle with them as long as I can walk,” Butler said. “At the end of the day, I love this game.”

He’s unquestionably won his team and the city over, but in a Western Conference as deep as its ever been, does he have a place in Los Angeles this February?

He’ll have to get voted in, and that process has some stipulations to go over.

Here are some things you need to know:

1. On this year’s ballot, Butler is listed as a “guard”. That means he’s going up against this group for votes:

• Russell Westbrook
• James Harden
• Stephen Curry
• Klay Thompson
• Chris Paul
• C.J. McCollum
• Damian Lillard

Last year, he made the Eastern Conference starting lineup as a frontcourt player. It’s unclear why Butler is listed this way this year, but it’s not going to change.

For what it’s worth, Andrew Wiggins is listed as a “frontcourt” player this year.

2. Fans can only vote for two guards in each conference, making his odds of a fan vote that much more difficult.

3. Per NBA.com: For the second straight year, fans, players and media will take part in the voting for the starters. Fans will account for 50 percent of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25 percent each.

4. Coaches pick the reserves, getting votes for two guards, three frontcourt players, and two “wild cards” (either position).

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If Butler isn’t voted in as a starter – which seems unlikely already – he’ll be at the mercy of NBA coaches.

So, let’s pretend that Westbrook and Curry get voted in as starters. That means Harden is a lock as a bench guy, and Butler has to beat out the likes of Paul and Thompson for the second guard spot.

If not, he has to take the field, which may or may not include Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Draymond Green and DeAndre Jordan.

He’ll compete for votes against teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, too.

The road for Butler won’t be an easy one. The Western Conference is absolutely loaded; somehow even better than it was a year ago.

But even so, he should get there.

It’ll be impossible to top Harden, Westbrook and Curry in an All-Star vote of any type, but Butler might be the next in line. Even if you place Thompson in ahead of him – which is completely fair, as Thompson is shooting 47 percent from deep this year – there might not be a single frontcourt player more deserving.

As well as McCollum and Lillard have played in Portland, Butler has been better, and helped lead his team to a better record thus far.

It’s hard to make a case for any of the key contributors of the Grizzlies, Pelicans or Thunder, as long as Butler keeps the Wolves in a superior position in the standings.

Guys like Green and Towns have put up All-Star productions on top 4 teams this year but aren’t the main guys on their teams. Butler is.

Butler deserves to make it to the All-Star game. Not only is he putting up All-Star caliber numbers, he’s moved his former cellar-dweller team into a top spot in the Western Conference in a matter of months, and it’s happening with him as the main guy.

Very few players are able to do what he’s done in Minnesota. Some would have been able to get them back into playoff contention, but very few would be able to – at times single-handedly – separate them in the Western Conference standings from their competitive peers so early in the game.

More than one player will get snubbed in the 2018 All-Star game, but it shouldn’t be Butler.

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Tim Faklis

Tim Faklis is a senior editor and the Timberwolves beat writer for Zone Coverage, as well as an NBA contributor for Sporting News. He's written about basketball and music for A Wolf Among Wolves, VICE, City Pages, Fansided, Growler Mag, Hardwood Paroxysm, The Classical, and others. As it stands right now, he remains the world's biggest Trenton Hassell fan.

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