Steve Kerr says what Jimmy Butler ‘never does’ makes him like two Golden State Warriors icons

Steve Kerr identifies Jimmy Butler as modern equivalent of Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston

Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston exemplify this sacrifice. Both possessed unique skill sets that could have made them stars on other teams.

Instead, they spent significant portions of their careers with Golden State, sacrificing individual statistics to support Curry while excelling in their complementary roles.

Steve Kerr recently identified a current player with similar caliber to Livingston and Iguodala: Jimmy Butler.

“He never turns the ball over. So, he just controls the game out there for us. We need that, we’ve always been at our best when we can provide the support for Draymond and Steph’s chaos with some stability. That’s what Andre [Iguodala] did, that’s what Shaun Livingston did,” Kerr explained.

“Because the chaos is really powerful, but it can also get away from us. Jimmy just settles us down and I thought he did a great job of that tonight,” he added.

Jimmy Butler’s season opener performance validates Kerr’s comparison

Butler starred in the Warriors’ 119-109 season-opening victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, scoring 31 points while committing just one turnover and finishing with a plus-20 rating.

Butler was also efficient in his shooting. He made 50% of his field goals and all 16 of his free throws.

This performance exemplifies what Kerr hopes will continue throughout the season, as Butler provided instant impact during his limited action last year.

If Iguodala and Livingston successfully helped the Warriors win titles through unselfish play, Butler has excellent opportunity to replicate that success.