Regarded as one of the hardest workers in the NBA, Jimmy Butler doesn’t shy away from calling out anybody who didn’t put in the work to his satisfaction. This has been an old trait for Butler and the members of the 2017-2018 Minnesota Timberwolves had to face this the most, especially Andrew Wiggins.
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Back in 2018, months after being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, Jimmy Butler told GQ how honest he would behave in front of each and everyone he met.
“ I’m just the honest type. And the truth hurts sometimes. If I’m in the wrong, and you tell me, I get pissed off about it. But if it’s the truth, it’s the truth.”
Even though he did admit that being hard on his teammates (Minnesota Timberwolves & Chicago Bulls) was something that could have been handled in a better way, the 6ft 7” forward didn’t apologize for his actions.
“And I know if I could have handled a situation better. Like you talk about the Chicago situation. Was that the best way to handle it? No. Did I apologize for it? No. But I think I could have handled it better. I will say that.”
Butler’s obsession with winning is the reason why he expects the best out of his teammates, just like other greats Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. And anybody who didn’t respect this trait of his, the two-way star would have a problem with.
“You get me in a competitive environment, I’m passionate, emotional, I don’t care what word you want to put on it. I just want everybody to show the effort… I just want everybody to want to win at all costs. And I feel like sometimes that’s not the case. And I think that if you don’t put winning first, you’ll have a problem with me. Because I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” Butler confessed.
Despite rocky relationship with the Wolves, Jimmy Butler is in touch with and respects former teammates
Jimmy Butler spent slightly more than a year playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. On the hardwood, Butler played some of the best of his career. However, despite his on-court performance, the All-Star had constant disagreements with the front office.
Towards the dying stages of his stint with the Wolves, the Marquette alum went rogue during a scrimmage. Apart from cussing the members of the front office, he even targeted Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.
“Screaming from the top of his lungs, Butler uttered taunts at his teammates, including ‘They ain’t [expletive]!’ and ‘They soft!,'” league sources said,” Haynes wrote. “Most of the players knew the invectives were directed at Towns and Wiggins, sources said.”
Despite ending his relationship with the Minnesota side on the wrong note, Butler still respects and is in touch with some of his teammates. During the interview with GQ, the 2015 Most Improved Player revealed how a former teammate – Tyus Jones – was texting him.
“This is [Minnesota Timberwolves’] Tyus Jones that’s texting me. That’s my dawg. I still talk to a lot of my former teammates man,” Butler said.
Even Wiggs, someone who was personally targeted by Jimmy, revealed being “cool” with the latter despite all the drama.
“We’ve always been cool,” Wiggins said. “Even after all that stuff happened this summer, from what people made it seem like, nothing happened. We always cool. even the first time I seen him during training camp and we talked, there was never no problem.”
Jimmy Butler has a great relationship with the Miami Heat front office and teammates. Hence, Butler is able to co-exist with everyone peacefully, while having led the Florida side to two Finals since 2020.
