{"id":155848,"date":"2019-01-15T07:21:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T12:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/andscape.com\/?post_type=tu_feature&p=155848"},"modified":"2019-01-15T10:31:45","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T15:31:45","slug":"jimmy-butler-i-dont-have-regrets","status":"publish","type":"tu_feature","link":"https:\/\/andscape.com\/features\/jimmy-butler-i-dont-have-regrets\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Butler: ‘I don’t have regrets’"},"content":{"rendered":"

He was born in tiny Tomball, Texas. His biological father didn\u2019t bother. His mother kicked him out of the home at 13 in Houston. He was homeless before being taken in by a family before his senior year in high school. He hooped in junior college after light recruitment. He was the last pick in the first round of the 2011 NBA draft.<\/em><\/p>\n

To say the odds weren\u2019t stacked against Jimmy Butler to become an NBA star, and just a success in life for that matter, is an understatement to say the least. <\/em><\/p>\n

Today, the four-time All-Star is a member of the Philadelphia 76ers after his trade request was granted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. While his presence in Philadelphia has reportedly made waves — which he and coach Brett Brown have denied — Butler will be one of the NBA\u2019s most coveted free agents this summer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Butler sat down with The Undefeated before a Jan. 2 contest in Phoenix to discuss his life and NBA career. Here are his reflections, as told to The Undefeated\u2019s Marc J. Spears, on his rise to success, short stint with the Wolves, hopes with the Sixers, and more.<\/em><\/p>\n

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E<\/span>verybody got different odds for different reasons. I got lucky.<\/p>\n

I also think I was blessed enough with the right tools, the right people around me to be put in a great situation. But odds? I don’t think they were too great if we’re talking about the numbers part of it. But I am where I am, odds or not.<\/p>\n

Do I continue to defy the odds? Am I against odds? I don’t even think about too much of that stuff no more. It’s fun to look back on it, but the odds are just what they are \u2014 numbers. And the way that everybody’s talking about numbers and analytics nowadays, it just kind of angers me anyway.<\/p>\n

I was the 30th pick. I had that moment where I wondered if I would survive in the NBA.<\/p>\n

I’ll never forget a conversation that I had with somebody. And it was really just out of the blue, so I took it as kind of disrespectful because I was just being a happy-go-lucky kid \u2014 happy to be in the league, working, lifting weights, going to the gym. Somebody pulled me to the side, I’m not going to say no names, and was like, \u2018Do you know how many of the 30th picks make it to the second contract?\u2019<\/p>\n

And I was like, no.<\/p>\n

But the way that he said it, it was kind of like, \u2018You’re going to be out of the league soon.\u2019 And I was like, man, \u2018Why are you coming at me like that?\u2019<\/p>\n

He was like, \u2018Why don’t you go research it and come back and let me know?\u2019<\/p>\n

And so, I did it. Tell you the truth, I can’t remember exactly what I found out. Not many, not many.<\/p>\n

But I got mad. I took it as disrespect. I work incredibly hard. I know I belong.<\/p>\n

And I realized I made it during my first All-Star appearance in New York in 2015. You’re walking into that room and it’s like Melo [Carmelo Anthony], it’s like D-Wade [Dwyane Wade], ‘Bron [LeBron James], it’s KD [Kevin Durant], all those guys. And then they’re like, \u2018Yo, congrats. Welcome.\u2019 It’s like, \u2018Welcome to what? All you guys are sitting in this room like this ain’t no big deal ‘cuz y’all done this seven, eight, nine, 10 times.\u2019<\/p>\n

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From left to right in the top row: Members of the East Coast All-Stars Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver, Carmelo Anthony, Pau Gasol, Chris Bosh, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jimmy Butler. From left to right on the front row: Jeff Teague, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, John Wall, and Kyle Lowry. The players posed for a picture before the 2015 NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 15, 2015.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Jesse D. Garrabrant\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\n

You’re talking about the best of the best. The superstars. The faces of the league. I’m sitting over there quiet, like, I don’t even know what to talk about. I don’t have multiple All-Stars. I don’t have that much in common with you guys yet.<\/p>\n

But then I’m watching the way that they interact, that was when I was like, you know what, maybe I have made it a little bit.<\/p>\n

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I like it when people say that I’ve changed. I would agree. I have. Because if you’re not changing, you’re not evolving. That means you’re being stuck. The world is constantly changing.<\/p>\n

How have I changed? I put a lot more people around me to help me be a better athlete, take care of my body, make sure I’m eating right, make sure I’m getting the right amount of all of that stuff that goes into my job. I didn’t have that years ago. I wasn’t paying attention to it years ago.<\/p>\n

My house is a little bigger. I got a few more cars. My clothes are a little different. My jewelry is a little different. The way that I think about things is a little different. But, yeah, you do change. What do you want me to do? You want me to live in a same type of house with no gate on a busy street that I could do when I was a first-year player in the league?<\/p>\n