Jimmy Butler has made an amazing transformation, going from a supporting player to the focal point of a Miami Heat squad that is in the running for the championship.
Butler has successfully led a club with few star players to the NBA Finals twice in the past four years, demonstrating his ability to score points consistently while also protecting elite opponents.
Andre Iguodala, widely regarded as one of the league’s most diligent and committed players, used the occasion to praise Butler by drawing comparisons to the iconic Kobe Bryant.
“You always look back and say how is Jimmy getting it done?'” Iguodala told the Gil’s Arena Podcast.
“He can’t shoot threes, can’t go left. Whatever they say about Jimmy he figured it out.
“I see him dribble with the right hand left and pull-up for three against Milwaukee this year.
“He’s probably the closest that I’ve seen to Kobe Bryant with that mentality of just ‘Man, Jimmy will figure out a way for us to win’.
“This dude got a Kobe Bryant will.”
The “Mamba Mentality”
Bryant had a successful two-decade NBA career that was marked by an unyielding focus on winning and a singular obsession with constant self-improvement.
He was the definition of commitment and upheld the tenets of his “Mamba Mentality” philosophy.
Butler seems to have many of the same qualities, at least in Iguodala’s eyes, despite the fact that he hasn’t yet succeeded in winning a championship.