Feb 4 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler (21) lays the ball in against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Anyone who follows me on Twitter should not  be at all surprised to hear those words come out of my (metaphorical) mouth. I’ve been driving the Jimmy Butler bandwagon since July and it has been immensely gratifying to see him both get increased playing time in recent weeks and also take advantage of it.

Allow me to clarify: No, I do not believe Jimmy Butler is an all-star. I may love him, but I’m not crazy. But, as I’ve written before, he certainly should have made his way into the BBVA Rising Stars Competition. And really, I would say he’s getting close to a point where you could argue for his inclusion in the dunk contest. I mean, look at how high he gets here, and how utterly unimpressed he is by this dunk.

Let’s look at the numbers. Butler is averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22 minutes per game, and shooting 48.9 percent from the field to go with 86.8 percent from the line. He’s rivaled only by Luol Deng — one of the single best wing defenders in the NBA — for his perimeter defense on the Bulls, and has been revealed to be a surprisingly decent passer. He’s also an elite offensive rebounder — for his position or otherwise — and while his jumper is still very much a work in progress, his cutting is solid and he always seems to know where to be on the floor offensively.

Basketball-Reference tells us that the Bulls are 7.5 points per 1oo possessions better with Jimmy on the floor than they are with him off. All due respect to Nikola Vucevic and Brandon Knight — neither of whom are bad, by any stretch of the imagination — but Jimmy should have made it over both of them. He may not be the best scorer ever, and that’s what traditionally gets noticed by the people in charge of the rookie-sophomore game, but if Taj Gibson can make it in his rookie year, Jimmy should be able to make it in his sophomore year.

Now, on general principle, I feel I should be mad about this. I love Jimmy and he’s been playing as well as anybody over the past few weeks. He absolutely deserves a spot in the game. Including the game where Luol Deng got hurt — January 18th against Boston — Jimmy has scored in double-figures in six of his last seven games.

On the other hand, the rookie-sophomore game — or challenge or whatever — is typically a basketball game in only the loosest sense. Defense is optional at best and non-existent at worst. It’s entertaining, I guess, if you’re into that sort of thing, but I can’t say I’m particularly devastated by Jimmy’s non-inclusion. I’m actually slightly pleased, since now I don’t have to watch it.

UPDATE: Jimmy Butler was asked about how he felt about being left out of the Rising Stars Challenge before last night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Per ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell, Butler wasn’t worried about it.

“I let it fall off,” Butler said before Wednesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “I don’t look at things like that because I feel like that’s more of an individual thing. Kudos to those guys because they’re great players and they’re really talented, but I love this team and I want to play along with these guys. And I’ll do whatever it takes for this team to win. I’m a competitor; would I have (liked) to compete in that game? Of course. But I’m a Bulls player to tell you the truth.”

Jimmy’s not the type of guy to raise a stink over something like this. I’m sure he would have liked to play in Houston, near where he grew up, but at the same time, it’s hardly the end of the world. He’ll play in Houston again as a member of the Bulls.

Full BBVA Rising Stars List:

Rookies

Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors

Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets

Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats

Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers

Alexy Shved, Minnesota Timberwolves

Dion Waiters, Cleveland Cavaliers

Tyler Zeller, Cleveland Cavaliers

Sophomores

Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets

Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

Brandon Knight, Detroit Pistons

Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs

Chandler Parsons, Houston Rockets

Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers

Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

Kemba Walker, Charlotte Bobcats