How many 3s does Jimmy Butler average? Taking closer look at Heat star's shooting prowess over the years

Jimmy Butler is considered one of the best NBA players. His two-way play has made him a valuable piece to a Miami Heat team that's fighting for the championship. Butler's elite performance was the main reason for Miami's NBA Finals run, despite a No.8 finish in the regular season.

The All-Star guard had averages of 22.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 5.3 apg last season, on 53.9 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc.

What's impressive is that his scoring averages are very high even though his 3-point attempts are very limited. Jimmy Butler prefers to score from inside the arc either by driving to the basket or hitting jump shots.

That explains the limited number of 3-pointers he attempts in every game in comparison with his field-goal attempts that vary between 10 (2013-14 season) and 16.5 (2016-17 season) per game over his career.

If we take a look at his shooting averages, we will see that Jimmy Butler has never averaged more than 4.5 3-point attempts in his career (2018-19 season). Before joining the Heat (2013-2019), he averaged between three and 4.5 3-point attempts.

Since joining Miami in 2019, his averages fell to around two 3-point attempts per game, while last season he had only 1.6 3-point attempts. He averages between one and 1.5 made 3-pointers per game over his career, shooting 32.3 percent from beyond the arc.

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Jimmy Butler confident about Miami's title chances this year

The Miami Heat were the pleasant surprise of the NBA in the playoffs last season. From No. 8 seed, they eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics to reach the Finals for the second time in four years.

They came up short against the Denver Nuggets in five games, thoughm but Jimmy Butler remains confident in Miami's ability to win it all this year.

"It’s a new year. It’s a new season. We came up short. I didn’t do my job. We didn’t do our job as a whole last season. But it’s a new season, and I’m excited for it," Jimmy Butler told reporters during Monday's Media Day, via USA Today Sports.

"We straight. I know what I’m capable of. I know what my guys are capable of. We’ll continue to play basketball as a unit, as a team. And somehow, someway, end up in the Finals. This time, we’re going to win it. We’ll see y’all in the Finals in June. This is our year. This is the one. And this one’s gonna feel real good."

To do so, they will need to overcome the Milwaukee Bucks, who landed Damian Lillard and the Boston Celtics, who traded for Jrue Holiday. Miami was Lillard's preferred trade destination, but he will now face the Heat as their main rival in the East.

"I am happy for Dame … but I’m still gonna be me. I’m gonna go beat Dame, Giannis and Adrian Griffin on our way to a title," Jimmy Butler told Taylor Rooks during an appearance on NBA TV.

Jimmy Butler and the Heat open their 2023-24 campaign at home against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 25.