8. Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat)
Although his game is rough around the edges in comparison to Kobe Bryant’s famously polished set of skills, Jimmy Butler is reminiscent of Kobe in a few ways.
For starters, there’s the ferocity he brings to both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
Butler is a five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection, as well as a four-time All-Defensive Team pick. Kobe racked up 12 All-Defensive nods in his 20-year career and is regarded as one of the greatest offensive players of all time.
Butler is also lauded for his work ethic, something that became Kobe’s calling card.
His underdog story is well-known to basketball fans. Butler dealt with homelessness as a kid. He wasn’t recruited heavily in high school and started his college career at a junior college. He worked his way into the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in 2014-15, and today Butler is a bona fide star and leader of the Heat.
In addition, Butler has that cocky, confrontational swagger that was at times a positive and a negative for Kobe Bryant.
Butler has infamously feuded with some teammates and burned some bridges around the league — he’s on his fourth team since 2017 — thanks to an ultra-competitive streak and blunt style of leadership. Kobe’s similar mindset was once portrayed as stubborn arrogance, but later in his career was embraced as tough love and a refusal to accept excuses.
This season, through Tuesday’s schedule, Butler is averaging 20.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.