Jimmy Butler III (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing one year of college basketball for Tyler Junior College, he transferred to Marquette University. He was drafted with the 30th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. Butler is a four-time NBA All-Star, a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team honoree, and a two-time All-NBA Team honoree. In 2015, he was named the NBA Most Improved Player. On June 22, 2017, Butler was traded, along with the rights to Justin Patton (the 16th pick in the 2017 NBA draft), to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the rights to Lauri Markkanen (the 7th pick in the 2017 NBA draft). In his debut for the Timberwolves in their season opener on October 18, 2017, Butler scored 12 points in a 107–99 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[55] On November 22, 2017, he tied a season high with 26 points in a 124–118 win over the Orlando Magic. On December 3, 2017, he scored 20 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to help Minnesota outlast the Los Angeles Clippers 112–106. On December 12, 2017, he scored season-high 38 points in a 118–112 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
On December 18, 2017, he had a 37-point effort in a 108–107 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On December 27, 2017, Butler scored 12 of Minnesota's 14 points in overtime and finished with a season-high 39 to lift the Timberwolves to a 128–125 victory over the Denver Nuggets. On January 23, 2018, he was named a Western Conference All-Star reserve. On February 9, 2018, in his return to Chicago, Butler scored 38 points (one shy of a season high) in a 114–113 loss to the Bulls. Butler chose to not play in the All-Star Game, prioritizing the stretch run of the season and thought the rest would benefit him. However, in the Timberwolves' first game after the All-Star break, on February 23 against the Houston Rockets, Butler left the game late in the third quarter with a right knee injury.
Two days later, he underwent meniscus surgery and was ruled out indefinitely. Butler returned to action on April 6 to score 18 points in a 113–96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game 3 of the Timberwolves' first-round playoff series against the Rockets, Butler hit four 3-pointers among his 28 points in a 121–105 win. The Timberwolves went on to lose the series in five games. After requesting and then not receiving a trade from the Timberwolves, Butler opted to play for Minnesota in 2018–19 despite indicating he would not re-sign with the team in the 2019 offseason.[69] In the Timberwolves' season opener on October 17, 2018, Butler scored 23 points in a 112–108 loss to the Spurs. Two days later, he scored a game-high 33 points in a 131–123 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
