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Steve Kerr Compares Jimmy Butler to Former Warriors Championship Hero

Jimmy Butler will play in his first playoff game with the Warriors on Sunday.

Eva Geitheim

Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III.
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
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The Golden State Warriors are back in the postseason, and their chances at making a run undoubtedly feel improved since they've acquired Jimmy Butler.

Along with adding another superstar in Butler to the roster, Butler has established a reputation of rising to the occasion in the playoffs, even earning the moniker, "Playoff Jimmy." He showed why he's earned that nickname during the Warriors' play-in game on Tuesday, scoring 38 points to help Golden State win and clinch a playoff berth. Before the Warriors begin the playoffs with a first round matchup against the Houston Rockets, coach Steve Kerr compared Butler to a former Warrior that also excelled in the postseason—Andre Iguodala.

"Jimmy reminds me so much of Andre Iguodala from a personality standpoint," Kerr explained on 95.7 The Game. "He almost doesn't even really want to score. Like, Andre really loved the nuances of the game, he loved getting other people open, he loved manipulating the defense. I feel the same about Jimmy. He really loves the game, and he really loves the chess match, and he's a much better scorer than Andre ... but similar mentality of going whatever it takes to win tonight and 'I'd rather pass the ball to my teammates than shoot.' So it's really just a beautiful mentality."

Outside of their similarities as players, both Butler and Iguodala haven risen to the occasion in the postseason. Though Iguodala, who was recently inducted into the Warriors' ring of honor, was rarely a starter in the year he won his first NBA Finals, he won the NBA Finals MVP after averaging 16.3 points, 4.0 assists, and 5.8 rebounds and slowing down LeBron James defensively during the title win.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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