Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler III is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Jimmy Buckets", he is a six-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA Team selection, and a five-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He also won a gold medal as a member of the 2016 United States Olympic basketball team.

Butler was born in Houston, Texas, on September 14, 1989. His father left the family during his infancy, and he was raised by his mother in the Houston suburb of Tomball until age 13, when she kicked him out of the house. He subsequently moved between the homes of various friends. Prior to his senior year at Tomball High School, Butler befriended teammate Jordan Leslie and stayed with Leslie's family. During his 2006–07 senior season as team captain, Butler averaged 19.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, earning team most valuable player honors.

Unrecruited out of high school, Butler attended Tyler Junior College in Texas, where he averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game as a freshman. He then accepted a scholarship to Marquette University. As a sophomore in 2008–09, he averaged 5.6 points per game. Moving into the starting lineup as a junior in 2009–10, he averaged 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while receiving All-Big East Honorable Mention. He repeated as an All-Big East Honorable Mention selection as a senior in 2010–11 after averaging 15.7 points per game.

The Chicago Bulls selected Butler in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft with the 30th overall pick. After earning NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors at the end of the 2013–14 season, he was named the 2014–15 NBA Most Improved Player, becoming the first player in Bulls franchise history to win the award. Over six seasons with Chicago, Butler re-signed to a five-year contract in 2015, achieved multiple All-Star selections, scored a career-high 53 points against the Philadelphia 76ers in January 2016, and earned his first All-NBA selection.

In June 2017, Chicago traded Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves. During his first season in Minnesota, he was named a Western Conference All-Star reserve and helped lead the team to the playoffs. Following a trade request prior to the 2018–19 season, he appeared in 10 games for Minnesota before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in November 2018.

Butler signed with the Miami Heat in July 2019. In his first season with the franchise, he helped lead the team to the NBA Finals. He led the NBA in steals in 2021 and guided the eighth-seeded Heat back to the NBA Finals in 2023. Amid conflicts with Miami's front office, Butler was traded to the Golden State Warriors in 2025.