What nationality is Jimmy Butler? Taking a closer look at the Heat star’s background
Miami Heat superstar forward Jimmy Butler has been arguably the biggest story of the 2023 NBA playoffs.
This comes as he has improbably led the eighth-seeded Heat to the NBA Finals where they will take on Nikola Jokic and the first-seeded Denver Nuggets. While Jokic hails from Serbia, Butler is one of the top American-born NBA stars, setting the stage for an intriguing battle in the finals.
Butler was born in Houston, Texas on September 14, 1989, to parents Jimmy Butler II and Londa Butler. However, his father abandoned his family shortly after he was born. In addition, his mother later kicked him out of the house when he was just 13 years old.
After being kicked out of his house, Butler was temporarily without a permanent home as he bounced around various friends’ houses. However, he is not a fan of those who say he was homeless:
“I was not living under a bridge,” Butler said.
“That's homeless. Or standing on the corner asking for change. That's not what it was. I'm not going to say it was the easiest of times, don't get me wrong, but I had a home. Or homes.”
During high school, Butler was permanently taken in by one of his friends’ mothers, Michelle Lambert. Lambert decided to support Butler despite having a total of seven children in her family.
“They accepted me into their family. And it wasn't because of basketball,” Butler said.
“She was just very loving. She just did stuff like that. I couldn't believe it.”
Butler later went from being an unheralded high school basketball recruit to being drafted No. 30 in the 2011 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. He has since gone on to become a six-time NBA All-Star, five-time All-NBA team member and the 2023 Eastern Conference finals MVP.
Also read: What do we know about Jimmy Butler's coffee company? Taking a closer look
Jimmy Butler on overcoming his past
Despite overcoming a rough upbringing to become an NBA star, Jimmy Butler doesn’t want that narrative to define him. He also made it clear that he holds no grudges against his parents, during an interview with ESPN in 2015:
“It's because I don't ever want (the past) to define me,” Butler said.
“I hated it whenever it came up because that's all anybody ever wanted to talk about. Like, that hasn't gotten me to where I am today. I'm a great basketball player because of my work. I'm a good basketball player because of the people I have around me.
“And if I continue to be stuck in the past, then I won't get any better. I won't change, I'll get stuck as that kid. That's not who I am. I'm so far ahead of that.
“I don't hold grudges. I still talk to my family. My mom. My father. We love each other. That's never going to change.”
Butler will look to cement his legacy as one of the NBA greats as the Heat face the Nuggets in the Finals starting on Thursday, June 1.