Jimmy Butler joins Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant in rarefied air

Any time a player scores 50 points in an NBA game, it’s something special. What Jimmy Butler did against the 76ers on Thursday was extraordinary.

The Bulls guard scored 53 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out six assists in the Bulls’ 115-111 overtime victory.

The numbers put the 30th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft in some rare company.

“Michael is the best player who ever played this game,” Butler said after the game to reporters. “I’m just playing my role on this team. That’s all I think about. And, I wear his shoes. So, I think he has a few notches up on my—a lot of them, actually.”

Not even LeBron James has matched Butler’s line, but he’s been close. The King has notched nine 50-point games with the best lines being 56-10-5 and 51-11-8.