How Jimmy Butler Became the Fittest Man in the NBA

Butler needs to be in his zone right now. Hes been in Miami barely a day, hasnt even unpacked, but he has to get back to business. Hes striding across the parking lot to a practice gym with his performance coach, James Scott. If Butlers going to be the centerpiece of the postDwyane Wade Miami Heat, theres no time for days off. Or, in this case, mornings off.

This is how you achieve success in the new age of NBA fitness: You start work hours before the likes of even LeBron have rolled out of bed. A decade ago, toughness and muscle ruled basketball (remember Ben Wallace?), but today the NBA may be more obsessed with recovery, diet, and the science of human performance than any other league.

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Jimmy Butler's Day is All About Training

Butlers 4:00 a.m. workout puts him at the forefront of this revolution, kicking off an entire day devoted to complete basketball readiness. Its a rhythm, its a routine, and I dont skip any of it, he says. I dont skip any steps of the process. Every hour is mapped out, beginning with the workout, then progressing to cryo-chamber recovery, agility training, and time on the court. And when his body is resting, his mind revs up, studying game tape and honing strategic thinking via games like dominoes.

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Even sleep is strictly programmed. Butler targets nine hours of shut-eye, which means lights out by 7:00 p.m. He preps for that sleep three hours earlier with herbal tea, a ban on all screens, and a cold-air diffuser. I eat when Im supposed to eat. I sleep when Im supposed to sleep, says Butler. I play dominoes when Im supposed to do that.

Scott, who worked with the Houston Rockets, has overseen Butlers entire fitness regimen for the past two years. Hes trained NBA players for 15 years, but hes never seen one quite like Butler. When I started working with Jimmy, it was the first time Id ever trained somebody at 4:00 a.m., he says. And hes never late, not by one minute, no matter the time or the place.

Butler starts his workout by shooting a ten-pound medicine ball to build wrist strength, then he holds 45-pound plates at his sides, drops them, and quickly catches them, challenging his grip. Then its on to one of his favorite drills, a game that attacks both balance and mental focus: He stands on one leg, a resistance band pulling him off-center, as Scott throws him red balls and blue balls. He must catch the red ones with his left hand, the blue ones with his right. I love thisanything single-leg I like, he says. Single-leg balance, single-leg box jumps, single-leg squats.

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Bridges, planks, and other ab exercises follow, and then Butler hits the court. For the next hour, he launches about 1,000 jump shots, perfecting a shooting stroke thats made him one of the leagues deadliest scorers in the clutch. By the time the first rays of light hit the sky, hes headed home for a breakfast of egg-white omelets, avocados, berries, and black coffee before recovery time in ice or maybe yoga, then more drills.

Then, at 3:00 p.m., he returns to the American Airlines Arena, this time to see if anyone wants to play pickup. Says Scott: Its another level of intensity.

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Why Butler Puts In The Work

BUTLER MAINTAINS this work ethic because he knows its his only guaranteed edge. From league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to Clippers twin stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to rookie sensation Zion Williamson, the NBA continues to get bigger and more athletic, rendering Butler, generously listed at six-eight, decidedly average. He makes his living outworking and outlasting his competition. Hes led the NBA in minutes per game, and he plays both ways, attacking on defense as much as he does on offense (where hes topped 20 points per game in five different seasons)

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His lone advantage: the endurance he builds in those 4:00 a.m. workouts. Hes really the most competitive guy that Ive ever been around in my entire life, says Scott. And its not just basketball. If youre playing charades with him, its the most intense game of charades youve ever played in your life. Uno, dominoes, you name it.

Or, as Butler himself puts it, he will whoop your ass. Thats it. Im tougher than you. Thats where Ill bank it at, and being tough is a talent. I back down from no one. Im scared of nobody. I dont care about the name that you have, what youve done. You cant intimidate me none. And thats whats gotten me here.

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The Payoff: An Unlikely Rise to Stardom

Here is pretty remarkable for a late-first-round pick. (Butler was the 30th selection in the 2011 draft.) He was raised by a single mom until age 13, when, he has said, she kicked him out of their Tomball, Texas, home. For several weeks, he bounced around, sleeping at friends houses, until a surrogate family took him in. Basketball became his releasebut at every level, he drew little attention. He couldnt get a Division I scholarship and had to start at junior college. When he arrived at Marquette, he barely played, stuck behind eventual NBAer Wes Matthews and other future pros at guard. And he barely cracked the Chicago Bulls starting rotation during his first two years in the league.

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Then in 2014, Butlers relentless approach began paying dividends. With Derrick Rose, then the Bulls star, out for the season, Butler stepped in as a starterand led the entire NBA in minutes played per game. A season later, with Rose still hobbled, Butler led the league in minutes again, this time averaging 20 points per game.

Hes been one of the NBAs top players since thenand hes experienced the leagues shifting approach to player health. In the 2014 season, he was one of seven players who averaged more than 37 minutes a game. Last season, only four players managed more than 36 minutes per game, and Butler played just 33.6 minutes a night. It was once a badge of honor to play heavy minutes in the 82-game regular season, but teams now limit the long-term wear and tear on stars, adhering to a concept known as load management. The goal is to plan training, competition, and other stressors to maximize performance with a minimal risk of injury.

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So the leagues best players no longer slog through the full season. Last year, the Raptors sat Kawhi Leonard in 12 games, citing load management which left him fresh for an NBA title run. This year, Butler knows the Heat could limit his minutes. Its not a hard adjustment for me, he insists, just because I train every single day as if I have to play 48 or more minutes every single night.

When Butler is playing, he certainly wont be thinking of load management. Hell just keep focusing on the motivation hes always had: fearof losing his position among the NBA elite, of reverting to the player who couldnt crack the Bulls rotation. I dont want to go back to just being okay. So I continue to work like I have nothing, he says.

Butler pauses. You have to work, because at any certain time, this shit could be taken from you. It could be gone, he says. And when I think about that, it scares the living hell out of me.

Check it out here!

How Jimmy Butler Became the Fittest Man in the NBA

Jimmy Butler's Day is All About Training

Why Butler Puts In The Work

The Payoff: An Unlikely Rise to Stardom

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