One of the wildest and most preposterous rumors in the NBA today is that Jimmy Butler could be an illegitimate son of Michael Jordan.
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Butler had a really difficult childhood. He grew up without a father, who abandoned him and his mother. At the age of 13, his mother drove him out of their home in Tomball, Texas because ‘she didn’t like the way he looked’.
Jimmy bounced around his friends’ homes for the rest of high school. He wasn’t recruited by any D1 colleges for a basketball scholarship. Butler then went to play in community college in Houston for one year before a coach noted his brilliance.
An NBA executive noted this on draft day about Butler:
“His story is one of the most remarkable I’ve seen in all my years of basketball. There were so many times in his life where he was set up to fail. Every time, he overcame just enormous odds. 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.”
Origins of the rumor linking Michael Jordan to Jimmy Butler
In 2016, Terez Owens released a sensational article claiming Jordan had abandoned a child in 1988:
“Michael Jordan Would Not Clam unwanted Child in 1988 in fear of Destroying Marriage! Child took on mothers name of Butler. It was reported he paid mother off so he would not tarnished his public image & Legacy….& role model figure. After 13 years mother kicked Child out of house hold because payments stop….”
There is of course, the small matter that Butler was born in September 1989 which rules this out. But this hasn’t stopped speculators, who noted that Jordan was in Houston on February 3, 1989. They think Jordan got Jimmy’s mom pregnant in this timeframe.
Jimmy Butler was born on September 14 of that year. There is no record that shows that Butler was born prematurely- about two months early. So essentially, this whole affair is a farce, but still a staple for NBA meme creators.
