Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler III, born September 14, 1989, in Houston, plays for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. Known as "Jimmy Buckets," he’s been named an All-Star six times, earned five All-NBA selections, and made five All-Defensive teams. He also won a gold medal with the 2016 U.S. Olympic squad.

Butler’s early life was unstable. His father left when he was a baby, and his mother kicked him out at age 13, telling him, “I don’t like the look of you. You gotta go.” He bounced between friends’ homes until a high school teammate, Jordan Leslie, invited him to stay. Leslie’s mother, Michelle Lambert, took him in. Butler still speaks to his parents, saying he doesn’t hold grudges. At Tomball High School, he averaged 10 points as a junior and 19.9 points with 8.7 rebounds as a senior, earning team MVP. Unrecruited out of high school, he attended Tyler Junior College.

At Tyler, he averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, drawing interest from Division I schools. Rated a two-star junior college prospect, he accepted a scholarship to Marquette University. As a sophomore, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds. As a junior, he started, averaged 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds, and hit game-winners against UConn and St. John’s, earning All-Big East Honorable Mention. As a senior, he averaged 15.7 points and repeated the honor.

The Chicago Bulls picked Butler 30th overall in the 2011 NBA draft. In the lockout-shortened 2011–12 season, he played 42 games. The next season, he played all 82 games, started every playoff game, and scored a then-career-high 28 points against the Raptors, followed by his first double-double (22 points, 14 rebounds) against the Knicks. In 2013–14, he missed 15 games but led the league in minutes (38.7 per game), scored a season-high 26 against the Grizzlies, and set a franchise record by playing 60 minutes and 20 seconds in a triple-overtime game against the Magic. He made the All-Defensive Second Team.

In 2014–15, Butler tied his career high with 32 points against the Nuggets, was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month, and set a new career high of 35 against the Knicks. He was selected as an All-Star reserve. After an elbow injury sidelined him for three to six weeks, he returned in March. In the playoffs, he scored a career-high 31 points in a win over the Bucks, then topped it with 33 in a loss. He was named Most Improved Player in 2015.

After six seasons in Chicago, the Bulls traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves in June 2017. In November 2018, he was traded again, to the Philadelphia 76ers. He signed with the Miami Heat in July 2019, reaching the NBA Finals in his first season. In 2021, he led the league in steals. In 2023, the eighth-seeded Heat made the Finals again, their second appearance in four years. Following conflicts with Miami’s front office, he was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 2025.