Few NBA players can relate to the type of effort Michael Jordan exerted on the basketball court. He played through sickness, injury and retirement. There aren’t many players that committed to excellence on both ends of the floor.
One of the league’s best (and few) two-way players, Bulls Jimmy Butler, got a chance to sit-down with MJ to chat. Butler said he learned a lot about how a great player approaches the game.
We sat down at dinner over the summer and talked about a little bit of stuff, Butler said. He’s an awesome dude to just pick his brain, knowing how to win and being the best player at that point in time. And just the way that he changed the game, you can ask [him] how different the game was then and it helps, man. It really does. The games are the easy part, man. You got to work every single day, put in extra work to make sure you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing. Practice isn’t enough, you got to get in early, you got to stay late. You got to come back at night. He’ll let you know that because he did it, and look what it did.
The comparison to Mike may be a farfetched one, but it’s good to see Butler aspire for greatness if your a Bulls fan. Jimmy Buckets may be the best Bull on the team but he allows Derrick Rose to have the spotlight despite being the most important player as a two-way threat.
The best comparison for Butler may come in the form of Dwyane Wade. Butler and Wade are both versatile players with experience sharing the show with big personas. They are also both former members of the Marquette basketball team.
