Subscribe
Follow Us
If Jimmy Butler had his way, he would absolutely suit up in as many NBA games as he could.
The Miami Heat’s prized offseason acquisition, however, missed the team’s first three games of the 2019-20 NBA regular season for “personal reasons.”
Further reports revealed that 30-year-old superstar had a pretty good reason to sit out the team’s season opener and two-game road trip, as he welcomed a baby daughter.
“I’m fortunate to have a baby girl now,” Butler told Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald before his season debut against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
“Hell, I started looking at life different a long time ago. But I definitely look at it a lot differently now. I feel like every time I leave the house, every time I hop in the car, every time I do anything, I feel like I got to make it home. I look forward to having that feeling for the rest of my life.”
Butler’s child, who was named Rylee, was initially expected to be born sometime around the preseason. She came a week late of her due date, as Butler only got the call just hours before tip-off against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The four-time All-Star lamented that he has no regrets and will always put his family first above anything.
“I just had a feeling that God was going to show me what was truly important in life,” Butler said. “That whole week leading up to it, I was like, ‘OK, ain’t nobody going to know anything. I’m not going to miss any games, I’m still going to hoop.’ God was like, ‘Nah, this is family. This is everything.’ It happened to be on opening night.”
Butler scored 21 points in his Heat debut on Tuesday and helped his team improve to 3-1.
