Jimmy Butler has led the Miami Heat on a postseason run that no one thought was possible when the regular season ended. But it hasn’t just been Butler’s outstanding performances alone that has Miami in the NBA Finals, but the amazing play of the Heat’s role players, many of whom are undrafted, that has them on the brink of an NBA Championship. Because of this, many have pointed to the leadership of Butler and how it compares to some of the all-time greats, including Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson.
Magic was not only one of the greatest players the NBA has ever seen, but also one of the best leaders. He lifted the play of his Lakers’ teammates, always making sure everyone was locked in and entrusting them in huge moments throughout the contest. This would ultimately lead to five NBA Championships for Johnson and the Hall of Famer sees some similarities between himself and the Heat star.
In an interview with Josh Peter of USA Today, Magic spoke about those similarities, noting that both he and Butler prioritized winning and uplifting teammates above all else:
“Team first,” Johnson told USA TODAY Sports. “Winning first. Making your teammates first. All those things were first for me and first for (Butler).
“That’s why the Heat are in the NBA Finals, and so Jimmy has lifted the play of all his teammates around him. He’s made them better. And because he’s the hardest worker on the team, those guys follow that. He’s tough as nails, so they follow that.”
Johnsin would continue on, noting how he and Butler didn’t care about stats, only the end result:
“They knew I was all about winning,” Johnson said. “I didn’t care how many points I scored. I didn’t care how many shots I took. I just wanted to win. … So that’s how we are alike. And then we could take the game over when we wanted to take it over when it was winning time.”
This was on display for Butler in Game 2 of the NBA Finals as he struggled with his shot all night long. He had just 13 points through three quarters, but focused on distributing when his shot wasn’t falling and finished the game with a team-high nine assists. Butler would then score eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as the Heat evened the NBA Finals at 1-1 with a three-point road win.
There are certainly some similarities between Johnson and Butler and their desire to win. For Magic, that led to five rings for himself and the Lakers and now Butler is doing everything he can to bring one to the Heat.
Kyrie Irving reportedly reached out to Lakers’ LeBron James about joining Mavericks
The current leader of the Lakers is LeBron James, though whether he will continue playing after 20 NBA seasons remains unclear. Apparently whether he will suit up for the Lakers if he does return could be a question as well as Kyrie Irving is reportedly recruiting him to join the Dallas Mavericks.
An unrestricted free agent, Irving has been linked to the Lakers as a potential signing this offseason, but recent reports stated that Irving contacted the LeBron about the possibility of him joining Dallas in the offseason. But with him still under contract with the Lakers, it would take either a trade or a buyout for that to happen and Dallas has little to offer in a deal since they gave it up to acquire Irving in the first place.
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