Jimmy Butler had been the motor of the Miami Heat in their playoffs run last year. It wasn’t only his incredible on-court play that has helped the Heat reach the NBA Finals as an eight-seed, but also his mentality. Off the court however, especially in the offseason, Butler is an absolute jokester and one oft the NBA’s biggest trolls.
But Jimmy Butler a musician? That’s new! However, it seems like the six-time NBA All-Star is not only a force on the basketball court but also a budding country music artist. In a recent interview with The Guardian, Butler revealed that he has been quietly working on his own country album for over a year and has already amassed a collection of over 60 songs.
Butler’s interest in country music stems from his childhood in Texas, where he grew up listening to artists like George Strait, Willie Nelson, and Alan Jackson. He says that he is drawn to the genre’s honest and relatable storytelling, which he believes resonates with his own experiences as an athlete and a person.
According to the Butler, his motivation for getting into music, is to “humble” himself. Per The Guardian:
“There’s so many people out there, and I’m one of them, that are like, ‘Man, I can do that,’ and you really don’t know how difficult it is to make a No 1 song, how difficult it is to have all these songs on the back burner. And you got to pick the right ones. And it’s fun, and I do love it, but my goodness, it’s difficult. It’s stressful – it’s completely different from basketball. I’m not saying basketball’s easy either, but just for people to be able to think they can just go do this or that – it’s like, man, look. Humble yourself. It is incredibly fun, I’ve had a blast while doing it. But I will tell you that it’s not easy.”
According to the interview, Butler is unlikely to himself sing on the album, as he sees himself in more of a songwriter/producer role.
