NBA Finals MVP 2023: Jimmy Butler odds, stats, path to award ahead of series

The 2023 NBA Finals are set as the Miami Heat will head west to take on the Denver Nuggets. Game 1 of the series will take place on Thursday, June 1 at Ball Arena in Denver. This series will feature the No. 1 seed Nuggets and the unlikely No. 8 seed Heat. The Heat are the first team from the play-in tournament to reach the NBA Finals.

We're going to break down the prominent players in this series on both teams and look at how they'll impact the matchup. Here's a look at Heat forward Jimmy Butler.

Jimmy Butler 2023 NBA playoffs overview

Postseason stats: 28.5 ppg, 7.0 RPG, 5.7 APG, 2.1 SPG,48 % FG, .35% 3P

Butler has been the driving force behind the Heat's postseason run. Aside from Games 3-6 in the series against the Boston Celtics, Butler has played like an absolute superstar. Butler has elevated the play of everyone around him, and it started with surprising domination of the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks.

Odds entering NBA Finals (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Finals MVP: +330
Scoring leader: +160
Rebounding leader: +4000
Assists leader: +1400
3PM leader: +8000

How Jimmy Butler can win Finals MVP

If the Heat have any chance of beating the Nuggets, it's because Butler has an all-time performance. The Nuggets were playing some tough defense during the first two rounds of the playoffs, but there were times during the series against the Los Angeles Lakers when there were some cracks. If that's the case, Butler should be able to feast during this series. He will likely be matched against Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Aaron Gordon to see a different look. Butler is the most likely Heat candidate for Finals MVP because his team can't win without him having an MVP-worthy series. He's also a really good player, so he should play well regardless of the result.

  
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