By: Alvin Fang

Jimmy Butler is a Professional Basketball player playing for the Miami Heat. He had a rough childhood to get there.

Jimmy Butler grew up in Houston, Texas, and at the age of only 13, his dad abandoned the family for no known reason. Since Jimmy looked exactly like his father, his mom kicked him out of the house saying “I don’t like the way you look, you gotta go.”

Jimmy Butler went to his friend’s house, he lived with them and any day he wasn’t with them, he was roaming the streets. He started to play football until he realized he was the smallest on the team, so he switched sports and shot on the red rim instead. Jimmy Butler didn’t know it at the time, but switching sports was a great move.

Immediately, Jimmy signed up for basketball at Tomball Highschool. When he graduated from high school, he started playing for Tyler JR College. His dreams of making the NBA were at risk when a teammate of his was attracting scouts himself so Jimmy had to step it up a notch. Every single game, Marquette University’s assistant coach, Buzz Williams, would show up and one day, Butler got a phone call being invited to Marquette.

After a couple of seasons at Marquette, when he got convinced that he could make the NBA. One day in the 2011 NBA draft when the competition was at its highest and stars all around the world were here, it was now or never. Then, it happened when David Stern announced: “With the 30th pick, in the 2011 draft, the Chicago Bulls select… Jimmy Butler.” But when Jimmy joined the league, he realized that making the NBA wasn’t his goal, he had to prove to the world, that anything is possible.

One of the league’s best players, a scoring machine and a defense lockdown, a six-time all-star, a 6’ 7 guard, nobody could stop him and he finally accomplished his dreams of being a star in the NBA, leading a path of inspiration behind him.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/sports/basketball/nba-jimmy-butler-miami-heat.html