After upsetting the Milwaukee Bucks, defeating the Knicks, and stunning the Celtics, the Miami Heat has found themselves playing the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. While the likes of Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin, and other roles players have had notable contributions, Jimmy Butler has been the single reason behind their improbable postseason run. 4 wins away from lifting his first-ever championship, Jimmy G Buckets has a chance to surpass James Harden on an esteemed list, according to Fox Sport’s Nick Wright.
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The 2023 Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Jimmy has made it to the NBA Finals twice. Whereas, the Beard has had his fair share of struggles in the postseason, managing to be the conference champ only once during his stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Harden’s postseason failures have led Nick Wight to be motivated enough to replace the Sixers star with Butler on a prestigious list.
“Jimmy Butler will replace James Harden”: Nick Wright
On the recent episode of Fox Sports’ First Things First, Wright presented his “Top 10 NBA players drafted in the last 20 years” list.
However, Nick did state that his list could potentially change following the conclusion of the 2023 NBA Finals. In the very next graphic, Butler replaced Harden from the 4th tier of the pyramid. According to the 38-year-old, the Heat forward would surpass the former Most Valuable Player if the Florida-based franchise would win the title.
“If Jimmy Butler wins this title, he’ll replace James Harden as one of the 10 best guys to come into the league in the last 20 years.”
While Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes didn’t agree with their co-host, Wright explained how this title would be a difficult one if Jimmy won it. Exclaiming that all rings didn’t weigh the same, Nick reiterated how the 33-year-old two-way star would’ve defeated Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, and Nikola Jokic to win the title as a #8-seeded team.
NBA Twitter reacts to Nick Wright’s comments
There were several reactions as soon as Nick’s take went viral on social media.
Many users stated their reason to dismiss the analyst’s take. Either they spoke about All-NBA selections or displayed graphics that depicted James’ incredible scoring ability.
@jamesabaileyjr and @CarriedLeBron were just a few of the many who supported the take.
To be fair, the Southpaw has gathered much more accolades than Jimmy has. Of course, lifting the championship trophy is the ultimate goal. However, there are several all-time greats such as Allen Iverson and Charles Barkley that never won any titles. So clearly, there are other factors that need to be considered too.
