If Jimmy Butler isn’t in the NBA MVP conversation, he probably should be.

Over the past 22 games, the Timberwolves’ star guard is averaging 24.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists. This season, according to basketball-reference.com, the Wolves outscore opponents by 6.9 points per 100 possessions when Butler is on the floor and are outscored by 10 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the bench.

When Butler is one the floor, Minnesota looks like one of the better teams in the Western Conference, capable of obtaining home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, winning a series and at least scaring somebody in the second round.

When he’s off the court, you’d swear the Wolves are set to extend their 13-year playoff drought.

Butler was great in Chicago, earning All-NBA honors last season, but he looks to be on a different level this season, carrying the Wolves to wins more times than not in recent weeks.

But when asked about Butler’s biggest improvements from his days coaching him in Chicago, Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t mention anything you can find in a box score. Related Articles ‘Home Teams vs. Hunger’ initiative aims to address Minnesota’s growing need

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“The thing that I really like about where he is is his leadership,” Thibodeau said. “I wasn’t around him daily for the past couple years prior to this year, but just seeing his growth (there). It’s not only what he’s done for himself to make him a lot better, but what he’s doing for his teammates.”

Thibodeau had a front-row seat for Butler’s development in Chicago. He saw the way Butler learned from Luol Deng about how to be a pro, and he believes Butler is providing the same type of example for Minnesota’s young players.

“It’s what he does every day, how he prepares, how he practices, how he plays every play,” Thibodeau said. “He’s changed our culture.”

Last season, Thibodeau harped on the importance of preparation and seemed to lament the Wolves’ lack of it. He doesn’t need to worry about that with Butler.

When it comes to the game plan, the coach said, “He knows everything inside and out.”

How about the tendencies of opposing players? “He knows everything inside and out.”

“You watch him before the game in the locker room, he’s locked into what he has to do. When you see him on the road preparing, that’s what a good pro does,” Thibodeau said. “This isn’t random, where you just come in and start thinking about the game at 7 o’clock when the ball goes up. So he does all the right things, and that’s the example a young player can have. He had it from some good vets and now he’s sharing it with our guys, and that’s what has moved the needle for us.

“It’s really not anything that he’s saying, it’s what he’s doing.”

Rest assured, Butler is still saying plenty, both to his teammates in games and to the media afterward. If he thinks the team is lacking in a certain area, he’ll tell you — a trait he developed in Chicago.

“The biggest change in him that I saw was that success allowed him to be more demanding of other people around him,” Bulls president of basketball operations John Paxson said before the season. “He just kind of became more confident and more forceful in who he was as a person. That kind of empowered him, I think … as a leader and as a player.

“He’s always seemed to me as the kind of guy that once he kind of set a bar for himself, he expected everyone else to work toward that same level. I think that’s what I saw change over time, probably more than anything.”

Honest evaluation is part of Butler’s leadership.

“You can’t be scared of a little conflict and what somebody else may think of you on the floor, because you want to win, you want to play at an extremely high level,” Butler said before the season. “Nobody likes losing, and we want to get out of that mentality as soon as possible here. If you can’t take a little constructive criticism … it’s a grown man’s league, so you’ve got to be all right with it.” Related Articles ‘Home Teams vs. Hunger’ initiative aims to address Minnesota’s growing need

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Of course, being a vocal leader requires actions backing up words, and Butler’s do. His on-court performance demands respect.

“He’s the heart and soul of this team,” Wolves guard Tyus Jones said. “He’s the engine. He makes us go. We follow him.”

The Wolves follow their leader — their alpha.

“I just go out there and play hard, and my teammates follow that, which is phenomenal,” Butler said. “But there are things that I can do better out there. As I grow here and we grow as a unit, everybody is going to step up in different ways.”