Butler Voted as All-Star Starter

While Jimmy Butler might be downplaying Thursday's news on the outside, he's gotta be ecstatic somewhere on the inside.  For the third straight year, Butler will be joining basketball's elite at the NBA All-Star Game.  And this will be the first time he gets to start for the Eastern Conference.  Thank the revamped voting process in which fans account for half the vote's weight while players and media members get a quarter each or we'd be talking about Joel Embiid starting instead.

Before Butler heads to New Orleans for this glorified exhibition without any defense, he should soak in all the congratulations he's getting.  A player who has worked hard to elevate his game and done just that since he first came into the league deserves the spoils.  People have recognized the payoff of that work and this is Butler's reward.  It helps that he's putting up career-best averages in points (24.8) and rebounds (6.8) while also tying for his career high in assists (4.8).

It's almost cliche at this point to recount Butler's underdog tale, but it only makes you appreciate him even more.  A teenager who got kicked out of his home in the Houston suburbs and had to go to junior college to draw attention from Division I schools would probably have his basketball success stop there.  But he accepted an athletic scholarship from Marquette and played well enough for the Bulls to take him as the last first-round draft pick in 2011.  You know the rest.

This year, Butler's star keeps ascending at a time when the Bulls are uncertain about their future direction.  Without him, they wouldn't be holding onto the last playoff spot in the East, albeit with an unimpressive 21-22 record.  The presence of future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade has helped him and the Bulls as well.  Wade has credited Butler as a major reason he bolted from Miami, so the appreciation and helpfulness goes both ways.

As time goes on, we have to appreciate Butler for the great player he is.  His hard work, the fruits of said work, the way he looks out for his team and his personality are all attributes people look for in an NBA player.  Few are able to back up their talk with walk the way Butler is.  Sure, some might not like how he called out Fred Hoiberg last year or forcibly grabbed leadership among the players, but you can't look me in the eye and expect me to believe he hasn't earned it.

This is his time and his moment.  We in Chicago should be lucky to have him.  Otherwise, we'd be watching some pretty bad basketball with little to no excitement.  Congratulations Jimmy!