Jimmy Butler has kept his life as much private as he can. Despite his stardom and public life, the Miami Heat star has made sure that his children’s lives are not impacted by his celebrity status.
On October 4, Jimmy Butler celebrated his eldest child and his daughter Rylee Butler’s fifth birthday. The 2015 NBA Most Improved Player took to his social media to wish Riley a happy birthday. He posted a blurry picture of him sitting with his daughter on what seemed like a sofa.
“Happy fifth birthday to my daughter,” he wrote in the caption.
Butler has a daughter and a son Brayan Butler who is two years old. According to People, the Heat star has been dating Kaitlin Nowak. She also took to her IG handle to wish Rylee a happy birthday:
“It’s my best friend’s BIRTHDAY! My OG. You are more than everything I’ve ever wanted. The spiciest girl with the kindest heart. The light in every room you walk into. The way you love and lead your brothers unconditionally.. Being your mom has been my greatest joy. Happy Birthday baby girl 💕,” she wrote.
The couple had their daughter the same year that they got together. Butler’s former teammate Kyle Lowry is Rylee’s godfather.
2024 season opener sees Jimmy Butler score his fewest points since 2021
Jimmy Butler’s last season ended with an injury in the Play-In Tournament against the Philadelphia 76ers. Fast forward, the Heat were tossed by the defending champions Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
Butler made his comeback this season and it was certainly not how he or the Heat would have imagined. After the conclusion of the Heat’s season opener against the Orlando Magic, the six-time NBA All-Star ended up just with three points.
In 25 minutes, Butler scored 3 points on 1 of 8 shooting from the field while missing both his 3-pointers. This was his lowest-scoring game since the New Year game against the Dallas Mavericks in 2021. In the home loss against the Mavs, Butler had scored just 2 points.
Jimmy Butler is not alien to having bad games. He has had 24 games in his career where he has scored 0 points. However, the last time it happened was in 2018, when he played just 10 minutes in the game.
While Butler having an off-night can just be as it is, it might raise questions regarding the relationship between Heat’s front office and Butler. Last season, when Heat’s president Pat Riley was asked about Butler’s extension, he highlighted the availability issue.
“That’s a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who’s going to be there and available every single night,” Riley said. “That’s the truth.”
However, it would be too soon to deliver a verdict based on one game. Jimmy Butler is too good a player to have regular bad games.
