Los Angeles Lakers’ Gabe Vincent Calls Jimmy Butler “One Of The Ultimate Competitors”
After one of the best seasons of his career, Miami Heat’s star Jimmy Butler is getting the respect he deserves around the NBA.
Former teammate Gabe Vincent is the latest to praise Butler for his value as a teammate. On a recent episode on JJ Redick’s podcast, The Old Man And The Three, Vincent said Butler’s competitiveness even takes place off the court.
“First of all about Jimmy, I think he’s one of the ultimate competitors I’ve ever been around. Like the way this guy loves to win is outrageous,” Vincent said. “Even if it’s over a game of Uno, like he will get intense and figure out a way to win and know what cards you have in your hand.”
Vincent played with Butler four years in Miami before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. Though Butler's desire to win can rub people the wrong way, it’s just him being a leader who wants to make teammates better.
“But as a leader, I think he just tries his best way to push people and sometimes it doesn’t always look pretty,” Vincent said. “It’s just not a handhold. Sometimes he’s going to get on you, he’s going to have expectations of you to just know the game and most importantly above all with him is to just play basketball the right way. I think he has a respect and appreciation for the game of basketball as it is.”
Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog HERE.
