Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler with his new familyhttps://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=tR6bqHgL&id=81336722517D30B79A49802E9C9A5396C44BCDD2&thid=OIP.tR6bqHgLWHPazI8G4wtEhwHaDT&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2f3.bp.blogspot.com%2f-PuZB4qkUgJQ%2fUZeROBRhPVI%2fAAAAAAAAAKk%2fBUVPV_WjLmQ%2fs1600%2fcnn%2bbutler.png&exph=342&expw=765&q=jimmy+butler+with+family&simid=608006838452027580&selectedIndex=5Kicked out of his house by his mother at the age of 13, Jimmy Butler was left homeless. A kid like Jimmy was expected to amount to nothing. He was doubted and almost no one believed in him. Life as child was rocky for Jimmy. He struggled daily to find shelter,  “Usually within a few weeks, he was moving on to a new place, anywhere to lay his head down at night” (Ford). With nowhere to go and no one to trust, Jimmy went to the one thing that would never turn its back on him, the game of basketball. He showed sparks of talent through his years of high school. But this wasn't enough for any colleges to begin scouting Jimmy. But Jimmy would receive his first break during the summer of his junior year. “Before his senior year Butler crossed paths with Leslie, a freshman, at a summer basketball tournament. The two teens quickly discovered a shared love of sports, and Leslie's own childhood struggles helped him connect to Butler”(Golliver). After a summer league game, Leslie challenged Jimmy to a 3 point contest. This small contest would sprout a friendship between the two. Eventually Jimmy would begin coming to Leslie’s house day after day, soon enough spending multiple nights at a time there. The entire family became very close to Jimmy and over time the mother, Michelle Lambert, grew fond of Jimmy. With the family’s connection to Jimmy growing stronger, Michelle would give in and decide to adopt Jimmy. With support from a family for the first time, Jimmy began excelling in his B-ball game. “As a team captain his senior season, he averaged 19.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and was named to the all-district first team.”(Ford) Even though these numbers are above average it still wasn't enough to attract the attention of any D1 college scouts. With no other options in hand, Jimmy packed his bags and decided to go to Tyler Junior College. He made his best efforts to be noticed at Junior College, but throughout his career Jimmy was never handed anything. The journey Jimmy would take to achieve his dream of making it to the NBA would be tedious and rigorous. Even after making it to the NBA he would still face multiple challenges. Jimmy would continue to persevere through every obstacle that was in his path. "His story," one GM said. ‘is one of the most remarkable I've seen in all my years of basketball. There were so many times in his life where he was set up to fail. Every time, he overcame just enormous odds.”(Ford). Even though life threw continuous obstacles in his path, Jimmy never gave up. He persevered through many complications and worked to get to where he is today. His story continues to inspire others to strive for their dreams.

Jimmy Butler standing next to Coach Buzz Williamshttps://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/wp-content/blogs.dir/2380/files/jimmy-butler-through-the-years/jimmy-butler-2.jpgJimmy’s career in college wouldn’t go unnoticed. Although Tyler was not an ideal college for an NBA player, Jimmy would make the best of his situation. Even though the odds were against him, he would find a way to flourish. He would persevere through challenges he was met with to reach his goal of making it to the NBA. “When he played here he started off great, 33 points his first game and 46 in his last.”(TJC to Bulls). With Jimmy putting up above average numbers and amazing defense colleges began to notice him. He also began to grow a level of confidence that would help him excel in his basketball games. Colleges like Marquette, Kentucky, Clemson, Mississippi State and Iowa State all made offers to Butler. When Jimmy was at a basketball event he was approached by Buzz Williams, assistant coach for Marquette University. Buzz would tell reporters that Jimmy was the hardest working player there, but that’s all he saw in Jimmy. “The first thing Buzz said to me was, ‘Jimmy you suck’(Kunshin). This was only a small taste of the “tough love” Williams had in store for Jimmy. With the help of his mom Jimmy decided to take a full scholarship to Marquette University. By this time Buzz Williams was head coach of the basketball team and nothing would prepare Jimmy for the horrendous coaching Buzz had in store for his players. Jimmy, yet again, was faced with another obstacle. This obstacle would come in the form of Buzz Williams, “I've never been harder on a player than I've been on Jimmy. I was ruthless on him because he didn't know how good he could be. He'd been told his whole life he wasn't good enough. What I was seeing was a guy who could impact our team in so many ways.”(Ford) With the hellish practices and the toughness of Buzz, Jimmy began struggling and fell into a slump. He was barely putting up 6 points per game playing almost 20 minutes. As time went by more and more people began doubting Jimmy. With all this pressure on him he sought mentoring. The mentoring would come from his teammates who would also become future NBA players, “I was tutored by the best," Butler said. "Those guys taught me so much about how to play and how to be a man. I want to be a guy my team and my coach can count on. That's what I want to be.”(Ford) With his tutoring from his teammates Jimmy understood what he needed to do to improve his game. He took the concepts and skills from his teammates and implemented them into his own play style. With this change in Jimmy’s game, In his senior year he began attracting the attention of multiple scouts. “Butler averaged 15.7 points in 2010-11 -- but he could also rebound, handle the ball and defend multiple positions”(Ford). As Jimmy wrapped up his college season he would learn that he was projected to be drafted into the NBA. Jimmy felt a feeling of relief and accomplishment, he told reporters. All his hard work over the past years was finally paying off. In the 2011 NBA draft Jimmy Butler would be drafted by the Bulls on the 30th pick. “I instantly burst into tears...all the people that told me I wouldn’t amount to anything, that I wouldn’t make it...but more than anything I proved myself right I could care less about proving others wrong”(Chelyaba). In the end Jimmy would prove everyone who doubted him wrong. He in fact didn’t care that others doubted him, he continued to believe in himself. The journey Jimmy made from the age of 13 to the 2011 draft is amazing in every way. The obstacles he went through were difficult to surpass but Jimmy persevered and overcame them.    

Jimmy on Draft day standing next to his Motherhttps://2.bp.blogspot.com/-348b6CaFkbY/UiNiajk-syI/AAAAAAAAARw/5QYJVfCCP6s/s640/Jimmy-Butler-family.jpgGetting into the NBA wasn’t the end of Jimmy’s struggles. He would work towards earning a name for himself in the league. The continuous efforts he made to become something in the NBA would make him one of the most motivational NBA players of all time. His aim was to show others that if someone like him could make it this far, then they can do the same too. Jimmy’s first season would start off slow, The rookie forward played a mere 8 minutes per game and racked up about 2.8 points per game. Butler was shadowed by some of the NBA’s best players at the time. He would go on to sit out 23 games although he was perfectly healthy. “When I came to Bulls, I didn’t know I’d even make it past the first two years...I’m looking at Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, guys I grew up thinking were the best players in the world.”(Smith). With almost no appearances on the court, he decided that the only way to get better was practice. For the first few seasons that’s all Jimmy did. He spent countless hours in the gym working on his offensive skills. All this practice would finally pay off, in the 2013 postseason Butler would begin to average 13 points per game and finally earn a starting position on the Bulls team. Even with this starting position Butler struggled with consistency. With this fluctuating game style Jimmy again went back to practicing, "Probably like three times a day. I worked out in Houston and it's very boring down there. We didn't even have cable in my house, so we went to the gym and we stayed in the gym"(Contemporary). Butler's dedication soon paid off. In 2014-2015, he would go on to lead the Bulls with 20 points per game while still dominating on the defensive end. This drastic improvement on the offensive side of the court would get him the most improved player award of the 2014-15 season. This streak wouldn’t end there, the very next year Jimmy Butler would be named an all star for the first time in his career. The kid who was abandoned at age 13, the kid who couldn't make it to a D1 college, the kid who was the last pick in the first round, would go on to become an NBA all star and one of the best players in Bulls history. His story would give other basketball players motivation to strive for their dreams.

Jimmy’s path to the NBA is one of the most inspiring basketball stories of all time. His determination and perseverance impels others to work for their dreams. More importantly Jimmy would teach others that anything is possible. "It's taught me that anything is possible," Butler said. "My whole life, people have doubted me. They didn't know my story. Because if they did, they'd know that anything is possible”(Ford). Jimmy would go on to explain that if someone like him, who came from such rough beginning, can make it then you can too. His ultimate goal was to show others that with hard work anything is possible. Jimmy was also a big inspiration to me. I grew up playing basketball that was the only sport that ever clicked with me. Playing as a kid I wasn’t very good, I could barely play offense and I stumbled everywhere on defense. Over time I improved my game with practice, with this improvement I felt as if I was ready to play in a league. My friends who were already in the league told me it was almost impossible, unless some miracle happened, that I would make it on the team. This discouraged me and I decided to not attend the try outs. A few days after my Dad came up to me and showed me an article about an NBA player that used to be homeless. This of course was Jimmy Butler’s story. My Dad tried to explain to me that if Jimmy was able to do why couldn’t I. I just took this as another one of my Dad’s life lessons and told him that me and him were not the same. Later that day when I was shooting around I started thinking of what my Dad said. If Jimmy, someone who was Homeless as a teenager, can make it the NBA, it’s possible that I could make it into this league. I still forced myself to believe that Jimmy and I were just not the same. I assumed he was just born with amazing skills in basketball but that was nowhere near true. Jimmy struggled to improve and fought day after day to get better. After I read his entire story I felt some motivation but me being stubborn still believed he and I were still not alike. However I started practicing more from that day, just to prove myself right. I wanted to prove that no matter how hard I practiced I still wouldn’t make it to where I wanted to be. The next year came rolling over and tryouts were starting up. Tryouts this year were very different from the previous ones. I spent most of summer putting up as many shots as I could. Even with all the practice I still didn’t believe in myself. This would change for me completely after the first day of tryouts. I would go on to put up four 3 pointers, 2 steals on defense, 14 points in total and lead the game in blocks. I would come to understand that, yes, Jimmy and I were different, nonetheless it didn’t mean that I couldn’t do what he did. His story gave me a prime example that if you put your mind towards something that anything is possible, he inspired me to continue to work on my basketball game and to never give up despite the circumstances. Jimmy’s perseverance that he portrayed throughout his years, since a teenager, inspires and motivates others to this day. His heroism is shown throughout his career as he took down every obstacle life threw at him . He continues to show others that through hard work anything and everything is possible.

Works Consulted

ChicagoChelyaba. “Jimmy Butler: The Long, Winding Road.” YouTube, YouTube, 4 May 2013,

“From HOMELESS to ALL-STAR? The NBA's Most Incredible Story!” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Dec. 2016,

Friedell, Nick. “Butler's Unlikely Path to NBA Stardom.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 25 Nov. 2014,

Golliver, Ben. "Running the Gauntlet." Sports Illustrated, vol. 122, no. 8, 23 Feb. 2015, pp. 38-43. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=101058112&site=ehost-live.

"Jimmy Butler." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 135, Gale, 2017. Biography In Context,      

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606007697/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=47fb6243. Accessed 9 May 2018.

Ssmith. “The Jimmy Butler Story | Chicago Bulls.” NBA.com, NBA.com, 9 Feb. 2018,

www.nba.com/bulls/features/jimmy-butler-story.

"Video: Jimmy Butler goes from TJC to Chicago Bulls." Local Broadcast Video Content, 23 Apr. 2015. Student Resources In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A410843219/SUIC?u=powa9245&sid=SUIC&xid=275b765d