Stephen A. Smith had the ultimate hype line for Jimmy Butler fans when he said the Miami Heat superstar reminded him of Rocky Balboa, especially from ‘Rocky II.’
Speaking on his podcast, ‘Know Mercy’ the NBA analyst was reminded of Sylvester Stallone’s iconic character when he thought of Butler. “Here’s where I got really, really, really nervous,” Smith said.
“I’m a Rocky fan. Not so much one, but Rocky II, the rematch with Apollo Creed. Rocky III against Mr. T… ‘I pity the fool! I pity the fool!’ I was a fan of him in Rocky IV, him vs. Drago after Drago murdered Apollo Creed in the ring. I’m a huge fan of that.”
Now here’s where the analogy gets mighty accurate. “But I remember in Rocky II when Apollo Creed’s trainer…Apollo says, ‘What’s your problem, man?’ and he said to him, ‘He’s all wrong for us, baby. I saw you beat this man within an inch of his life, and he wouldn’t go away. He kept coming.’ And every time I run across somebody like Jimmy Butler, who is not only a great player but a rough rider with heart and guts, that’s the kind of thing I think about.”
Jimmy Butler ain’t afraid of ANYONE…reminds me of someone pic.twitter.com/g0EjRIfXGz
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 1, 2023
Butler has been one of those players with immense grit and resilience. And the best example of it was his single-handed efforts to carry the Heat across the finish line against the Milwaukee Bucks with scintillating performances in Games 4 and 5.
He followed that up by staying in the game against the New York Knicks despite rolling his ankle. He was seen in pain on the hardwood but ended up playing even after. The end result was Miami taking a 1-0 lead. So if Smith compared him to Balboa, he wasn’t exaggerating.
Jimmy Butler Provided An Update On His Ankle Injury Ahead Of Game 2
It wasn’t promising news when Butler outlined the extent of his ankle injury. Speaking to the media in the aftermath of the win, he said:
“Find a way to win. Be out there. Be a presence. I didn’t do too much, except for air balling a three, but I’ll take the dub.” He further added, “Like a rolled ankle,” when asked how he was feeling.
Butler finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists after playing for 43 minutes. Clearly, a rolled ankle is not going to keep Butler out of a series where he’s gunning for a title and not just a deep playoff run.
To end with, here’s the clip that Smith was talking about:
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