With limited options, he chose a nearby institution – Tyler Junior College – to try his luck. However, after finishing high school, Butler did not receive scholarship offers from colleges he had hoped to enroll in and was not scouted. Living with a proper family for the first time, Butler excelled in basketball for the Tomball High School Cougars and was even made the team captain during his senior season. Butler accepted an athletic scholarship at the Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Anything I asked him to do, he did it without asking questions,” said Michelle. Hence, the Lamberts finally gave in and took him in after a few months. Moreover, the family’s financial situation was tight, and adding another kid was not ideal.īut the seven kids had formed a good bond with Butler and wanted him to stay at the house. Initially, Leslie’s mother, Michelle Lambert, was hesitant to take Butler into their home as she already had four children from her late husband and her new husband had three children of his own. Jordan Leslie and Jimmy Butler | jimmybutler/instagram Butler crashed at Leslie’s place for a few nights, which later turned into weeks. They spent time together in Leslie’s home, playing video games and staying the night. Leslie challenged Butler to a 3-point-shooting contest and the two became close friends immediately. At school, he consumed his passion for basketball and became a promising player when he reached high school.ĭuring the summer before his senior year at Tomball High School, Butler was approached by Jordan Leslie, a fellow athlete in his freshmen year, who had been observing Butler’s skill on the court for a long time. In high school, Butler met fellow athlete Jordan Leslie and formed a friendship that would change his lifeĪll on his own, a teenage Butler stayed with his friends and hopped from one couch to another every few weeks to survive. Please, don’t make them feel sorry for me,” said Jimmy. I’m grateful for the challenges I’ve faced. After all, he was not keen on being pitied based on his upbringing or lack thereof. When you talk to him – and he’s hesitant to talk about his life – you just have this feeling that this kid has greatness in him.”ĭespite all of this, Butler has always been reluctant to share this grim side of the story and has managed to keep it out of the headlines for the first few years. Every time, he overcame just enormous odds. “There were so many times in his life where he was set up to fail. Jimmy’s story was deemed “one of the most remarkable” by an NBA general manager who said that he had never seen as rare a case as Jimmy’s in his entire career. In a 2011 interview with ESPN, Jimmy recalled that his mother’s last words to him as she cast him out were: When Jimmy was only 13 years old, she kicked him out of the house after a dispute and left him to navigate the world on his own. His mother would go on to abandon him as well. Growing up, he never fully knew his father who had abandoned him when he was a mere infant. Jimmy Butler was born and raised in suburban Houston, Texas, and lived with his mother. He maintains a very close relationship with his surrogate family and at the same time holds no grudges against his biological parents.Īt only 13 years old, Jimmy Butler was kicked out of home by his mother following a dispute. Butler became friends with Jordan Leslie in high school, whose family (The Lamberts) eventually took him in and provided for him.To survive on his own, he couch-surfed with friends and developed a passion for basketball in school.Jimmy Butler was abandoned by his father when he was an infant and disowned by his mother at 13 years old.
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