Jimmy Butler sat himself out of the NBA All-Star Game

The NBA All-Star Game is one of the league’s marquee regular-season events, where the best players’ skills are showcased on one stage in front millions of viewers. So when a player who has no lingering injury tells his coach not to worry about his minutes in the game, it’s a bit odd, right?

That’s exactly what Jimmy Butler did. The Timberwolves’ star did not play in the actual game in an effort to get a bit of rest, despite being chosen by coaches.

Mike D’Antoni, who coached Team Stephen, said Butler’s legs just weren’t there on Sunday night — even for an exhibition.

“He was tired and he just felt like his legs weren’t there,” D’Antoni said. “He didn’t practice yesterday or play today. You have to respect that. He plays hard. Sometimes your body just needs a rest.”

Butler reiterated as much after the game, saying he just needed rest. “Just rest, man. I got to rest my body,” he said. He also said he wants to be fully prepared for when games start up again.

You can understand why he’d want a breather. Over the Timberwolves last five games, Butler has averaged nearly 41 minutes per game. For the season, he’s No. 1 in minutes per game at 37.3

He also has been in the top five in minutes per game over the last three previous years, averaging at least 37 per year. He led the league in minutes in 2014-15 with 38.7 per game.

Butler’s coach, Tom Thibodeau, is notorious for playing his players heavy minutes. Some suspect it might be part of the reason why Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Derrick Rose wore down the way they did. Butler has to buy rest when he can so he doesn’t wear down the same way.

Still, it stinks to see a player not play in the game just because of rest, especially when the other all-stars made an effort to play harder in the game. First of all, we don’t get to see a great player. Second, that’s a spot another player like Lou Williams could’ve had.

But it is what it is. Butler chose to save his energy, and his team should be better for it.