Like every feel-good story, there’s life, love, and heartache. Jimmy Butler came from a small town in Texas known as tiny Tomball, just 40 miles from Houston. Butler didn’t grow up with bright lights and fancy cars, but that’s what molded him into the Allstar he is today; as of recent a maximum paid player as well.
Growing up in Texas, Jimmy Butler was destined to be a football star. His primary sports growing up were football and baseball but Butler wasn’t a fan of the heat; no pun intended. Jimmy Butler fell in love with basketball as early as when he entered the Sixth Grade. It was something about the heat from the outside sports that made him even more mesmerized by basketball, or maybe it was the air-conditioned gym.
At home, life wasn’t easy; mostly because there wasn’t one. Butler spent most of his childhood labeled homeless as he grew up sleeping from couch to couch. At age 13, Butler had no money and no place to live; all he had was basketball.
When Jimmy Butler was a senior in high school, his life changed after he met a freshman kid named Jordan Leslie. “He doesn’t open up too much, but you kind of get the gist of it. I was always like ‘you could come stay tonight, my mom won’t care’ and be like ‘just one more night.’ That developed into a week and then a month” said Jordan. This is out of the norm for most people, to bring in a homeless child at age 17 scares many people. Those who are brave, like Michelle Lambert, would accept a kid like Butler with open arms. Michelle was the mother of Jordan Leslie, but she later became a mother-like figure to Jimmy Butler as well.
“He hid from us. I guess he thought if he wasn’t seen no one would think he was there” Michelle recalled. That doesn’t fit with Butler’s outgoing personality, but he was too cautious not to mess things up. “I felt if nobody knew I was there, they couldn’t get tired of me” Butler said.
Don’t tell Butler he doesn’t have a family, because he does. “That’s family. People say ‘that’s not blood’. Well, I say family is who you love, who you want to be around. Whose there for your first game, for your first start” Butler said.
Jimmy was flourishing on and off the court, but there were no recruiters coming to watch him play. Time was running out for Jimmy with no division-one colleges calling. Finally, Marquette’s recruiter Buzz Williams came to watch another player, but Butler caught his eye.
“First thing he said to me was ‘Jimmy, you suck’. I’m like okay, I’m just a kid.” Butler recalls as he laughed.
Butler was able to win over Buzz with his hard-work ethic. That following summer, Buzz Williams later was announced as Marquette’s head coach. The first person he called was Jimmy Butler at 2 am in the morning offering Butler a division-one scholarship.
Throughout his college career at Marquette, Butler was challenged by Buzz Williams, mainly because of his potential. The same potential that 29 NBA teams overlooked in the 2011 NBA Draft. As a student, Butler threatened to leave Marquette out of frustration many times. However, with patience and hard work, Buzz Williams was able to get the best out of Jimmy in his senior season at Marquette.
After being passed up in the draft 29 times in the first round, the Chicago Bulls took a chance on Butler. “I bursted into tears. I felt all the hard work that I’ve done and all the people who told me I wouldn’t amount to anything, I couldn’t be an NBA player, I couldn’t go to college, I couldn’t get my degree, but more than anything I proved myself right,” Butler said.
Jimmy Butler has made a name for himself around the league. He’s not only a tenacious defender taking on the NBA elites, but the NBA is now getting to know the fun cowboy side of Jimmy Butler. It’s possible that Butler is going Hollywood on us right before our eyes. Making friends with Mark Wahlberg and appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live is just the start for Butler.Heck, even the president is making a bid for Jimmy.
butler's a great player on o and d; let's sign him up long term. go bulls! https://t.co/IqbyUmcbmJ
— President Obama (@POTUS44) July 1, 2015
Last October, Butler rejected four-year $44 Million dollar deal from the Bulls. He knew his value, and throughout the season showed the Bulls what he was worth. Nearly a year later, Butler earned himself a new contract, double the amount of his first offer.
Once a homeless kid in Tomball to now NBA Allstar and reigning Most Improved Player, Butler has proven that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Jimmy “Buckets” Butler is set to take on a maximum salary that is larger than Derrick Rose’s contract from 2011.
