Kawhi Leonard, Jonathan Isaac top first NBA Defensive Player of the Year ladder

There is a reason Jimmy Butler has been named All-Defensive four times in the last six seasons — he’s one of the toughest perimeter defenders in the NBA.

Now with the Miami Heat after being moved in a sign-and-trade from the Philadelphia 76ers last summer, Butler, a 6-foot-7 wing, averages 4.7 defensive rebounds, 2.2 steals and 0.7 blocks in 35.2 minutes per game.

His 2.6 percent steal rate is in the 95th percentile among wings, while his minuscule 1.2 percent foul rate puts him in the 100th percentile in his position group. With a 14.1 rate on the defensive glass, he’s in the 89th percentile, and falls into the 81st percentile with a 1.1 percent block rate.

Butler is allowing a 64.0 percent success rate in the restricted area while defending 19.4 shots per game in that area, trailing only Derrick Jones Jr. on the club.

From an impact standpoint, the Heat have a defensive rating of 102.9 with Butler, a rating that jumps to 106.1 when he’s out of the game.