Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid named former teammate Jimmy Butler as the best player in the NBA following their loss to the Miami Heat on Monday.
Joel Embiid Names Jimmy Butler the NBA’s “Best Player”
Joel Embiid made just his third appearance of the season in the blowout defeat in Florida, recording 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes – while it was Butler who stole the headlines.
The 35-year-old veteran tallied a double-double of 30 points and ten rebounds as well as five assists on 8/12 shooting from the field and a perfect 13/13 from the free throw line.
Butler earned a new season high in points and steered the Heat to a bounceback victory following disappointment in Indiana on Sunday where he sat out with injury.
‘Jimmy Buckets’ has earned his trade over the years with hard-fought success in the playoffs including two Eastern Conference titles in Miami, but it’s probably fair to say his best days are past him.
The pair are good friends from the season they spent together in 2018-19 when Philadelphia lost out on a spot in the Conference Finals to the eventual champions, Kawhi Leonard’s Toronto Raptors.
When asked about his former teammate, Embiid replied:
“Jimmy is Jimmy. He does everything, scoring, passing the ball, commanding the floor. One of the best players in the league. Probably top five. Probably the best actually.”
Joel Embiid says Jimmy Butler is probably the best player in the league
“One of the best players in the league. Probably top five. Probably the best actually.”
(Via @BradyHawk305)
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— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 19, 2024
Butler is averaging 17.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game this season, so Embiid’s call looks a bit far fetched – these aren’t bad stats by any means, but we’ve seen plenty of better production from him in previous years.
The former Chicago Bull has also been vocally supportive of Embiid’s campaigns to win league MVP over the last few seasons and it’s clear the two had a lot of fun playing together in Philly.
