Jimmy Butler has come a long way since he played basketball at Tomball High School in Texas. He had a difficult childhood and was forced to move from friends house to friends house after his mother kicked him out of his house. He was soon taken in by one of his friends’ relatives and had a stable home. Butler played basketball for Tomball for all four years and his senior year he was voted the team’s Most Valuable Player. Despite having a good high school career, Butler was not discovered by many major universities and decided to attend Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. He had a breakout season there that soon began to attract the attention of Division 1 schools. After his freshman year, he was accepted on a scholarship to attend Marquette.
After graduating from Marquette, he was drafted in the 2011 NBA Draft. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the 30th pick. There were a lot of good vibes about Butler’s selection, but he wasn’t allowed a lot of playing time. the game due to being a rookie and former Chicago Bulls player, Luol. Deng being the headline. His first two years were average for a young shooting guard. The front office and many fans thought he was going to be a good shooting guard. After his third season, he made the NBA All-Defensive second team. By his fifth season he had become a breakout player due to the opportunity to start as well as playing without the best player on the Chicago Bulls at the time, Derrick Rose. He was playing very well and was selected as an NBA All-Star, his first time. He then led the Bulls to the playoffs, where they fell short against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Which brings us to his current season, where he’s having the best season of his career. He is averaging 22.3 points per game and has made his second straight NBA All-Star selection. This team had the leaders change from Derrick Rose to Jimmy Butler.
The Chicago Bulls are now considered to be Butler’s team and everyone knows he deserves it, including Derrick Rose himself. He is playing so well that he has been in the voting for the top 5 most valuable players in the NBA this season. It’s safe to say that Jimmy Butler is just entering the best years of his basketball era.
