“The closest to Kobe Bryant” – Andre Iguodala pays ULTIMATE compliment to NBA superstar

Andre Iguodala compares Jimmy Butler with Kobe Bryant.

“The closest to Kobe Bryant” – Andre Iguodala pays ULTIMATE compliment to NBA superstar

Jimmy Butler and Kobe Bryant (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Jimmy Butler is undoubtedly one of the finest two-way players in the league. He single-handedly led the Miami Heat roster with a lot of undrafted talents to the NBA Finals. But the Denver Nuggets were successful in bagging the title. Jimmy Butler though clowned the whole basketball world by switching on his playoff mode after playing some decent basketball throughout the regular season. But during the post-season, he turned into Himmy Buckets, Playoff Jimmy, or whatever one calls him.

Recently, Jimmy Butler received the ultimate respect a competitive player can ever receive from 4× NBA Champion, Andre Iguodala. He got himself a rare Kobe Bryant comparison from the veteran who has probably played his final season in the league with the Golden State Warriors. Iguodala believes Jimmy Butler to be the closest to Kobe Bryant, based on his mentality, will, toughness, competitive spirit, and hatred for losing.

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Recently, Andre Iguodala appeared on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, “Gil’s Arena.” There giving Butler his well-deserved flowers, he rewarded him with a legendary compliment. Iggy quoted: “You always look back and say ‘How is Jimmy getting it done?’ 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 was going cr*zy. Jimmy is 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. I’ve never seen a will like that. I’m like, this dude got a Kobe Bryant will, a will to him to win.”

Andre Iguodala is very right with his take. As Butler isn’t an established modern superstar with some special talents. And, he has fought his way up since childhood. But all those battles, hard work, efforts, and even some controversial team practices have made him the superstar he is. His journey started as a role player and now he’s leading teams to NBA Finals. Iguodala has also shared the floor with him for two years and recorded one appearance on the big stage where Jimmy played his heart and soul out for the team.

So it’s fair to compare him with legendary Kobe Bryant. As even Butler, is a big Kobe fan and has that Mamba Mentality in him. His strong will to outwork his rivals with nothing but pure skills is loud enough for everyone to hear about his greats.

Related: Heat star Jimmy Butler eligible to STEP OVER Jaylen Brown’s $304 million worth richest deal in NBA history

Can Jimmy Butler lead the Miami Heat to an NBA Title?

Andre Iguodala, Damian Lillard Jimmy Butler
Damian Lillard and Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have always been the underdogs. But the reality actually has them in contention every year because of their leader. Last season he led them to the NBA Finals without any great help from the undrafted talents or any superstar on the roster.

That was a historic run and not many expected them to do so after they came-in from the play-in tournament. But that wasn’t enough for them to win it all. And, even the Heat team has realized they need some help to become the NBA Champions.

Jimmy Butler can surely lead them to a deep post-season run. But to win it all they’ll need to add a superstar around him and Bam Adebayo. The front office is trying its best to acquire Damian Lillard from the Blazers. But they aren’t able to offer a satisfying deal. Jimmy has even done some personal recruiting to land his friend Joel Embiid on the roster. Once the Heat team is able to bring in an impact player their chances of winning it all can boost up to the sky.

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