Welcome to Saturday's Sporting Icon!
Every Saturday, this page will showcase some of history's most unappreciated sports superstars. From the winding streets of Monaco to the NBA hardcourt, I think it's time to shed some light on the greatness of some of the world's least treasured icons.
Saturday 7th February - Jimmy Butler
At 13 years old, Jimmy Butler hadn't had the greatest start in life. With no father and a mother who left him homeless after "not liking the look of him", his assent toward NBA greatness is nothing short of a miracle.
After spending much of his middle school and early high school days jumping from couch to couch, he was soon taken in by Jordan Leslie and his family who added him to their already full household. Butler became the 8th child of the Leslie roster and often played American Football with Jordan, who is now a wide receiver in the NFL. However, Butler was what you call a 'late bloomer' and was just 5'3" throughout high school; too short for any high school coach to consider. This is where he turned to basketball, but he wasn't turning any heads there either. In his senior year of high school, Butler was the 73rd best shooting guard in Texas and received not one NCAA Division One college offer.
In the hope of continuing his basketball career, Butler joined Tyler Junior College. Here is where he really started to make a name for himself, averaging over 18 points per game and being mentioned in the NJCAA All-American team. Still, Butler was overlooked and was only brought to Marquette University as an afterthought and roster filler. He faxed his letter of intent to the Division One school from a local McDonalds and joined the ranks of official division one ballers in 2008.
It took Butler a whole year to find his feet at Marquette, trying to quit on multiple occasions due to 'challenging coaching conditions' and didn't produce effectively until he was in his junior year. I use the term effectively in the kindest way possible. Butler's performances were mediocre at best, averaging 15.7 points per game but after growing to 6'7", he was a force on the defensive end. His mediocrity brought him to the 2011 NBA draft where he was selected with the last pick in the first round and landed him with the Chicago Bulls.
Unfortunately, I can't exactly tell you that his NBA career exploded as soon as he touched the hardcourt. In fact, just like in college, Butler took his time to develop, but no one can argue with the results. Since his inception into the league in 2011, Butler has gone on to become a 5 time NBA All-Star, NBA's Most Improved Player (2014/2015), and a crucial star on both ends of the floor. Most recently, he was the driving force behind the Miami Heats journey to the 2020 NBA Finals where they came up short against the LA Lakers. During the series, most notably in Game 2, Jimmy Butler showed the same resolve and determination that he had displayed at every level of his basketball career and throughout his young life.
So just to conclude, the next time you come up against any sort of opposition or rejection, think of Jimmy Butler. He was rejected at every level of the basketball hierarchy and still fought his way to becoming one of the most loved and sought after All-Stars on the planet. As the famous saying goes, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog". But in the NBA, it does help if the dog is 6'7".
👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽
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