Utah Jazz rookie once had same nickname as NBA legend

At one time, Utah Jazz newcomer Jared Butler was a hoops “doctor” of sorts.

Considering the fanfare surrounding the “steal” of former projected lottery pick Jared Butler via the No. 40 overall pick at the 2021 NBA Draft, Utah Jazz enthusiasts should be eager to learn as much as possible about the Baylor product leading up to his rookie campaign.

ALSO READ: More evidence of Jared Butler’s readiness

Butler’s winning ways on the court are already evident, at least on the college level. Just study his highlights in taking home the 2021 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award and helping the Bears to win their first national title:

A potentially silky-smooth Utah Jazz guard

The “silky-smooth” descriptor leads us to the following Jared Butler interview, which the official Jazz Twitter account provided the fanbase on Tuesday:

During the rapid-fire answers about his “firsts” — first impression of Utah, first text from a Jazz player after his draft selection, first famous Twitter follower, etc. — the newly turned 21-year-old explained the reasoning behind his first given nickname as a hoopster:

"“My first nickname was ‘Dr. J’…My name is Jared — I mean, obviously. But they just called me ‘J’…Then they thought I was, like, pretty smooth with the basketball, and they called me ‘Dr. J.'”"

At the moment, Basketball Reference does not list any nicknames for Butler. And chances are he doesn’t want to begin his pro career with the unnecessary pressure that would come with having the same nickname as Julius Erving, a Hall of Fame forward who dazzled his way to All-Star nods in all 16 of his seasons between the ABA and NBA.

So maybe just “Resident J” would be a more fitting nickname — for now, anyway — as Jared Butler tries to earn his “Dr.” status at the NBA level.