Neymar’s friend and NBA star Jimmy Butler admits wanting to play basketball in Brazil

The Miami Heat star revealed which Brazilian team he would like to play for
by
Martín O'Donnell
2024-05-12 12:27:28

Neymar is a big fan of other sports apart from football, as he’s been seen at Formula 1 races and NBA games more than once. Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is similar on that aspect, as he loves to watch other sports and looks up to other athletes.

That explains how both have forged a great relationship in the last few years. In fact, Butler told GQ Sports he would love to play professional basketball in Brazil before calling it a career.

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“I mean, yeah. In the NBA? For sure,” Butler said when asked if he still wants the Heat jersey to be the last one he wears. “But then after that, I really do want to play for Flamengo. I tell everybody, I’m half-Brazilian.”

Apart from being a storied club in football, Flamengo also have a basketball side that does pretty well in the NBB – Brazil’s top basketball league.

Who knows, maybe one day Butler gets to try this experience outside the NBA. Watching Butler in a Mengao shirt may not be what Santos fan Neymar wants to see, but seeing his friend embrace Brazil would be nice regardless.

Remembering Zagallo

Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.

Binge the first episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.