Lakers Icon Magic Johnson Praises Heat's Jimmy Butler: 'He's Tough as Nails'

Magic Johnson knows a thing or two about playing for a Pat Riley team.

Johnson was the point guard of the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, with Riley leading the team to four head titles as the head coach. Now Riley is the president of the Miami Heat and has the team in the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.

And Johnson told Josh Peter of USA Today that Riley has the perfect star to lead his style of team, and organization, in Jimmy Butler:

"Team first. Winning first. Making your teammates first. All those things were first for me and first for (Butler)."

"That's why the Heat are in the NBA Finals, and so Jimmy has lifted the play of all his teammates around him. He's made them better. And because he's the hardest worker on the team, those guys follow that. He's tough as nails, so they follow that."

For both Johnson and Butler, winning at all costs comes before stats or personal accolades.

"They knew I was all about winning," Johnson told Peter. "I didn't care how many points I scored. I didn't care how many shots I took. I just wanted to win. ... So that's how we are alike. And then we could take the game over when we wanted to take it over when it was winning time."

The Heat may need more points from Butler, however, who only put up 13 on 6-of-14 shooting from the field in Game 1's 104-93 loss against the Denver Nuggets. Butler contributes in a number of ways for the Heat as a playmaker and defensive stalwart on the wing, but the Heat are going to need him to be an elite scorer as well to get past the high-scoring Nuggets.