Jimmy Butler denies LeBron James at the rim (Video)

Even King James can’t handle Jimmy Butler on opening night

Jimmy Butler started off the Chicago Bulls’ 2015-16 season opener with the early highlight of the year as he went up strong in between Cleveland Cavaliers defenders to finish an alley-oop. However, he may have topped himself just one quarter later, this time with a highlight on the defensive end of the floor.

LeBron James was backing down Butler in the lane, which isn’t a place that many defenders in the NBA want to be in. Yet when James made his move and tried to put up a shot attempt, Butler was there to meet him at the top and deny LeBron his two points:

Butler clearly seems to be in the zone at the start of this game and the season, ready to take the reigns as the leader of this Bulls team. He’s been somewhat inefficient offensively to start, but he’s been active and has come up with some really big plays in the early action against the defending Eastern Conference champs.

Now all that remains to be seen is whether he can get his Bulls team to follow suit. With a new head coach and a changing rotation in Chicago, the team is going to have to follow Butler’s lead if they want to challenge the Cavs beyond the season-opener and for the Eastern Conference title.