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October 28, 2018

Road to Success: A Jimmy Butler Story

The road to success is rarely an easy one. Many fall and stumble along the way, and others just give up before the journey even begins. The strongest people are the ones that keep going no matter how many detours life gives them. Jimmy Butler is an All-Star in the NBA who endured the path that was set for him, and because he did, he is now worth millions. From being told, “I don’t like the look of you—you gotta go” by his own mother, to becoming a valued player for his respective team, Jimmy Butler struggled countless times, but despite it all, he stuck to what he knew best and became the player and person that he is today.1

Logo of Jimmy Butler’s first basketball team | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Jimmy Butler was born on September 14, 1989 in a small town in Texas called Tomball, a suburb of Houston. Butler’s life was not always as glamorous as it is now. He had trials he had to face as well. Butler’s father left at an early age forcing him to live with his single-parent mother, until one day when he turned thirteen, his mother told him, “I don’t like the look of you, you gotta go.”2 The young Butler had no direct help, and at times, he was seen homeless. But he moved from one foster home to another, constantly hoping to find a place to stay and call home.

While playing basketball with a friend in high school, Jimmy Butler was invited to go play video games with his future best friend Jordan Leslie, and it was there that Butler finally found a place to stay. In this home, Butler met his mother figure Michelle Lambert, who helped with his growth and made him promise that he would go to college and make something of his life.3

Jimmy Butler decided to take basketball more seriously, but at the end of all his efforts, he was still just an average player. Coming out of high school in 2007, Jimmy Butler was ranked 72nd in Texas, which, when put into perspective, is not all that great.4 The only ranked players that most college scouts look at are in the top twenty. So the fact that Butler was ranked 72nd meant that no college was really looking at him, because the stats did not show that he was an amazing player. Due to his ranking, and with no big colleges willing to recruit him, Jimmy Butler had to start his college career at Tyler Junior College, where he was again an average player.5

Butler played at an average rate during his time at Junior College, but, in 2008, it was his work ethic that got him into Marquette College, a Division 1 university.6 While playing during a game, a coach from Marquette noticed how hard Jimmy Butler was working in comparison to the other players, and he gave him an offer to go play at Marquette.7 Of course, Butler jumped at the offer. For him, this was a dream come true. It was at Marquette that Butler met his new inspiration and father figure, head coach Buzz Williams.8 Coach Williams was hard on Butler, and Butler knew that he was being hard on him. During Butler’s time at Marquette, Coach Williams scheduled a mandatory practice week during Fall Break, and had the whole team, including Butler, participate in two-a-days in the middle of the wilderness. A two-a-day is a more intense and strenuous workout. Instead of being on Fall Break and enjoying their time off, the whole basketball team had to participate. 9 Coach Williams pushed Butler to work hard, but Butler pushed himself harder. Butler knew that he was an average player; his stats showed that, and his rank showed that. He wanted to change that stigma so badly that he became obsessed. During practices, Butler would get so upset when he would make a mistake, he would start cursing and getting down on himself so much that he performed worse because of it. It got to a point where coaches would deduct points for his tantrums to try to calm him down so that he would perform better.10 Even though he had this unhealthy obsession, his hard work began to pay off.

Logo of college Jimmy Butler attended | Courtesy of Wikipedia

When the draft came around in 2011, Coach Williams reached out to the Celtics, the Clippers, and the Bulls, and he talked to them about Butler’s work ethic and potential. All teams were uninterested, but it was the Bulls that took a chance on Butler and picked him last of the first round in the NBA draft.11

While in college, Butler honed his obedience to the point that he would only do what was asked of him by the Coach, and that translated to his shot at the NBA. An example of Butler’s obedience was shown during a game against the New York Knicks when they had Carmelo. Butler was asked to guard Carmelo. During the middle of the game, point guard Derrick Rose was being doubled-teamed so he passed the ball to Butler and even though he was wide open, Butler passed it back to him. When a timeout was called, Rose asked Butler why he did not shoot the ball; Butler simply said, “I’m only guarding Carmelo.”12

During Butler’s first and second season, he had very average statistics, but he proved himself during the playoffs of his second season. In the 2013 playoffs, Jimmy Butler had above average stats, and because of that, he was able to become a full-time starter for the years that followed.13

On October 16, 2014, the Chicago Bulls were playing a very intense game against the Atlanta Hawks. The game went neck and neck from the beginning. The players lined up for the last second-and-a-half of the game, with the score 84-82, Atlanta Hawks leading. The ball was in-bounded by the Chicago Bulls. As the referee gave the ball to a Chicago Bulls member, all players started scrambling around, either to get open, or to play defense. In a split second, Jimmy Butler barely got open, got the ball, and took the shot…and made a buzzer beater three-pointer that solidified the Chicago Bull’s win over the Atlanta Hawks.14

The hero of the game, Jimmy Butler, had amazing stats, such as 29 points while shooting 8 for 14, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, all while playing 31 minutes, which was the highest stats recorded in that game.15 On top of those stats, Jimmy Butler hit a game-winning shot and he was not even considered an All-Star until after this game. Through this hard work, determination, and unwillingness to give up, Jimmy Butler has shaped up over the years, despite all his hardships, and became a player like no other in the NBA.

The year 2015 was Jimmy Butler’s breakout year. By averaging 20 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists per game, and 1.8 blocks per game, Jimmy Butler had shown that he was more than an above-average player and was named a 2015 NBA All-Star. Despite being kicked out of his home at a young age, being an average player in his youth and college life, and being drafted last of the first round, Jimmy Butler still managed to become an amazing player and became the first Chicago Bull to be named the NBA most improved player.16

Jimmy Butler went from a player that nobody wanted because of his lack of skills, to a player that almost everyone wants and is willing to pay millions for. Even though he had a rough upbringing, Butler continued to strive for more, even through all his fame and promotion, and that is what set him apart from many other players. Butler became an All-Star, played on the USA Basketball Team, and made multi-millions. But despite all of his accomplishments, he remained humble and continued to work hard day-in and day-out.17

  1. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  2. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  3. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  4. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  5. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  6. “Jimmy Butler College Stats,” College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com, https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/jimmy-butler-1.
  7. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  8. Nick Friedell, “Butler’s Unlikely Path to NBA Stardom,” ESPN, November 25, 2014, http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/11931211/jimmy-butler-unusual-path-becoming-star.
  9. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  10. Lee Jenkins. “Jimmy Butler,” Sports Illustrated, no. 127 (2017): 39.
  11. Nick Friedell, “Butler’s Unlikely Path to NBA Stardom,” ESPN, November 25, 2014, http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/11931211/jimmy-butler-unusual-path-becoming-star.
  12. Lee Jenkins, “Jimmy Butler,” Sports Illustrated, no. 127 (2017): 40.
  13. “Jimmy Butler 2013-14 Game Log,” Basketball-Reference.com, https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/butleji01/gamelog/2014/.
  14. The Game Jimmy Butler Finally BECAME A STAR! | FreeDawkins Youtube, 7:12, September 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHleK0lOncs&list=WL&index=22&t=0s.
  15. “Hawks vs. Bulls – Box Score – October 16, 2014.” ESPN, October 16, 2014, http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400583976.
  16. From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA’s Most Incredible Story! Youtube, 11:59, December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFDMIoeWjcM.
  17. Lee Jenkins, “Jimmy Butler,” Sports Illustrated, no. 127 (2017): 40.

Recent Comments

73 comments

  • Eugenio Gonzalez

    Jimmy Butler’s story shows us how humility and hard work can overcome talent and achieve success. Stories such as Jimmy Butler are the ones that inspire kids to fulfill their dreams and become better people. Watching Jimmy Butler play is inspiring because he is not necessarily the most talented on the court, but his passion and determination make him stand out.

  • Juan Asfura

    this is one of the most famous stories in NBA history, how we was homeless when he was a teenager. How we received zero offers to play basketball in college and with determination and with hard work he is now one of the best NBA players to be actively playing in the NBA. I would have never imagined that he would take his team to the NBA Finals last year against the Lakers. He is the definition of humbleness and the mamba mentality that Kobe Bryant tried to show other players around the NBA.

  • Nicholas Burch

    Jimmy Butler’s success surely came from his humbleness and willingness to do whatever it takes to win. He took this attitude on to the basketball court and showed everybody he was not going to mess around. It can be argued that even if he didn’t play basketball, the way that he strived for success showed that he could succeed in any aspect of life if he put his mind to it. People who look at his life story should be inspired and strive to be just like him, not just on the court. He proved that with this attitude, no matter how hard things get, you can still come out on top.

  • Reba Reyes

    Jimmy Butler is 100% all self made. I am not really much into basketball but I do find Jimmy Butler’s story inspirational. It told a story about how anyone can be somebody big with the motivation and love for the game. I would have never expected someone to be as great as he is with all the stuff he had gone through. The article was well written and very informative.

  • Alexandria Wicker

    The story of Jimmy Butler has always been so real and so inspiring to me. I believe that he really worked much harder than a lot of the players and people around him. His charisma and his dedication really paid off in the end and made his life a big inspiration for others. He went through a lot. I would have never expected someone to go through as much as he did and still end up being as great as he still is. This article was so well written and very informative.

  • Marcus Saldana

    jimmy Butler is an incredible player. His mind set of being the best possible player he can be is very inspirational. Everyone should try and do their best at whatever task is at hand. People with that mindset of Jimmy Butlers almost always make it to where they want to be in life but not always. Some people are just unlucky for example Freddy Adu had the opposite hand of Butler but didn’t make it. He was scouted at a young age but never had the dream career like butler did but for the sport of soccer.

  • Jake Faryniarz

    This article about how Jimmy Butler became a NBA player is really interesting. He had to go through many obstacles as a child with his family and started basketball as an average player. With his hard work he was able to get a D1 offer and later through years of dedication of basketball the Bulls picked up Jimmy Butler. During the NBA he was able to achieve even higher limits by becoming an All-Star and being able to take control, deciding the outcome of games. Jimmy Butler is one of the greatest in the league right now and I believe he will eventually go down in history as a hall of famer.

  • Maya Simon

    Jimmy Butler is a amazing basketball player. He worked his butt of to get better to be a superstar. His story is inspirational he was just an average basketball player in High School now he’s the goat well one of many goats. It just goes to show that hard work does pay off at the end of the day. This was a great inspiring article great work Donte.

  • Tavion Varela

    This was a great article which told an inspiring story. Jimmy had all of the odds stacked against him since his early childhood and has always defied them. From getting kicked out of his home to his unprecedented journey to the NBA, his story should be an inspiration and motivation to others who aspire to follow their dreams. Jimmy is a dog on the court and given the way he has had to work up until this point, it makes sense why he plays the game that way.

  • Eric Hernandez

    This article was truly inspiring. It held a strong lesson that anyone can make it to the top, even when the odds seem stacked against you. The lesson was portrayed excellently giving the circumstances of NBA all star Jimmy Butler. It was very motivating
    knowing how hard working and humble he is and how he was able to build his character even while dealing with many obstacles.

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