Jimmy Butler is an American pro basketball player who currently plays as both a shooting guard and small forward for the Miami Heat. He was born on September 14, 1989, in Houston, Texas. Butler can best be described as a late bloomer who wasn’t heavily recruited in high school. However, he’s blossomed into a bonafide star in the NBA. He won Most-Improved Player honors in 2015 and has been a five-time all-star. Butler has twice led the NBA in minutes played, scored over 20 points per game in five different seasons, and has become one of the NBA’s top defensive players.
Butler had a tumultuous childhood, getting kicked out of his house at age 13. He lived with various friends until settling in with the family of former NFL player Jordan Leslie. Butler spent one year at Tyler Junior College in Texas before landing at Marquette, where he began to blossom. He was selected 30th overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2011 NBA Draft. After a slow start to his career, Butler started to emerge as a star in his third pro season and became an all-star for the first time in his fourth pro season.
After six seasons with the Bulls, Butler was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in June 2017. After a year in Minnesota, Butler requested a trade and was eventually dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers. He finished the 2018-19 season with the 76ers before hitting the free-agent market, ultimately being part of a four-team sign-and-trade agreement that sent him to the Miami Heat.
Growing up, Jimmy Butler’s family was abandoned by his father when he was an infant. At age 13, his mother kicked him out of the house. Butler eventually found a permanent home with the family of a friend and classmate Jordan Leslie, who would later have a brief career in the NFL. Butler and Leslie both attended Tomball High School in the Houston metropolitan area. As a senior, Butler averaged 19.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game but received little attention from colleges.
Butler began his college career at Tyler Junior College in Texas, averaging 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. While he attracted some attention from Division 1 programs, he was considered a two-star prospect by recruiting services.
Ultimately, Butler transferred to Marquette, where he played under head coach Buzz Williams. Butler came off the bench as a sophomore, averaging just 5.6 points per game before moving into the starting lineup as a junior. He averaged 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game as a junior and 15.7 points per game as a senior, earning Big East honorable mention both seasons. Butler helped the Golden Eagles reach the NCAA Tournament in all three of his seasons, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2011 during his senior season.
The Chicago Bulls made Butler the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. He came off the bench during his rookie season but started 20 games for Chicago in his second pro season. Butler carved out a much more prominent role on the Bulls during his third pro season, leading the NBA in minutes played during the 2013-14 campaign. The following year, Butler averaged 20 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, being named an all-star for the first time and winning the NBA’s Most-Improved Player award.
During the summer of 2015, Butler agreed to a five-year, $95 deal to re-sign with the Bulls. He was an all-star with the Bulls in each of the next two seasons. However, in June 2017, Butler was traded along with Justin Patton to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and Lauri Markkanen. Despite missing six weeks due to a knee injury, Butler 22.2 points per game with the Timberwolves and made the All-Star Team for the fourth straight year.
Ahead of training camp for the 2018-19 season, Butler requested a trade away from Minnesota, making it clear he wouldn’t remain with the team when his contract expired. In November 2018, the Timberwolves traded Butler and Justin Patton to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jerryd Bayless, Robert Covington, and Dario Šarić. Despite averaging 18.2 points per game with the 76ers after the trade, Butler didn’t make the All-Star Team in 2019, although he helped guide Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
As a free agent after the 2018-19 season, Butler chose to join the Miami Heat. The 76ers and Heat worked out a four-team, sign-and-trade deal to send Butler to Miami on a four-year, $142 million contract. Prior to the 2019-20 season being suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, Butler was named an all-star and Miami’s leading scorer with 20.2 points per game.
Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Jimmy Butler had earned roughly $77.9 million from his NBA salary over the first eight seasons of his career. He earned $19.8 million during the 2018-19 season, but after signing a four-year, $142 million deal during the summer of 2019, his salary ballooned to $32.7 million for the 2019-20 season.
Meanwhile, Butler has a slew of endorsement deals from companies like Aquahydrate, Beats By Dre, Bonobos, Five Four, and Hyperice. Butler backed out of a deal with Adidas to sign with Jordan Brand. However, he and Jordan Brand mutually parted ways in January 2020.
Jimmy Butler signed a four-year, $5.3 million contract with the Chicago Bulls in 2011.
Jimmy Butler signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Chicago Bulls in 2015.
Jimmy Butler signed a four-year, $142 million deal with the Miami Heat in 2019.
The identity of Butler’s father is unknown, as he abandoned the family when Butler was an infant. He was raised by his mother Londa Butler until he was kicked out of the house at age 13. He crashed with several friends for a few weeks at a time until being taken in by the mother and step-father of friend Leslie Jordan.
In October 2019, Butler became a father with the birth of a daughter named Rylee. It’s believed but unconfirmed that the mother of the child is Butler’s girlfriend Kaitlin Nowak. However, Butler has been romantically linked to several women in the past.
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