You're listening to Comedy Central.
Please welcome Jimmy Butler. Welcome to The Daily Show.
I appreciate you.
What a great time to have you on as well, because I mean, you're an amazing basketball player. But then today you have been in the news for something that happened on the court that got someone thrown off the court. It was a little altercation that you had with a paces player.
I didn't start it, though, that's we have to say that first. Okay, you didn't stop. You didn't stop. I did not start it, right, But it.
Gets heat to what was interesting is I haven't seen many fights in basketball that end with one person blowing a kiss at the other person.
I'll agree with you, I would agree, but but it was it really a fight or it was more of an alter case? It was an altercation, right, and you see altercations and the kisses all the time.
I'm sure that.
Is true thin line between love and hate.
Hmm, that's what that is.
Do you did you think about the move before you did it?
Was it just in the moments? He was just like this is if I say it was in the moment, I feel like that's not gonna go over well. So I have to say I thought about it now.
A lot of people were excited about that moment because there are many people who feel like the NBA has become too tame. You know. Guys are like, oh, there's no more fighting, there's no more roughness. You know. You hear Shack talking about that. D Wade was like, Oh, this is old school Miami paces again. Do you think the game like enjoys moments like this where we feel like the players are really invested.
I think so.
I think so everybody likes something a little different here and there, right, And I just feel as though I'm that type of player, Like I don't know if I'm the best player.
I can't I can't answer that.
I can't tell you that, but I know I'm not putting up with too many things what people want to say say. I think if you just stick to basketball, it wouldn't happen. But time and time again, some disrespectful stuff happens.
You say you're not you say you wouldn't say you don't know if you're the best player. I would say that most people in Miami would say that you are. Because when you came to the Miami Heats, the team was struggling. I believe in like tenth place right and now in the season that you've been there in the East, they're in second place now, So I mean you are.
We're doing okay, we are. What's what's interesting.
What's interesting is that a lot of people were shocked by your decision to move from Philly to Miami. They were like, what is Jimmy doing. Philly's got the super team and now you moving to a team that doesn't have any proven players on why make that decision.
I mean, for the longest time in this league, I wasn't a proven player. So for me to hear and know the culture and what goes on when you're a part of the Miami Heat organization, it fit me to a team I'm allowed to be me. Every single day that I'm in a jury, every single day that I'm in practice. I get to to talk the way that I would like to talk right, act the way I would like to act.
And it's okay.
And I think we have a great group of guys, young guys mixed with vets, and it clicks.
It works.
Everybody's so happy that everybody's successful and getting the recognition that they deserve.
That we're going this way. How do you how do you work in Miami?
Though, No, because I've been there, like we've been there for the Daily Show, and like every day I was just like, I don't want to work. It's just sung, it's beach. It's like, how do you stay focused in because if I remember correctly, you wake up at like what four am? Early?
Not every day now, but in the in the summertime, every single.
Every single day, and then you were in bed by like what nine pm.
Let's say seven, seven pm. Yeah, so you don't watching the Daily Show?
I record it and I watch it throughout the game. You hear me, No, But but for real, how have.
You remained so focused in life? Because you see a lot of young players who get into the league. They a lot of money, a lot of money that a lot of people aren't used to and you took this and you became one of the most disciplined players in the league. How do you think you've maintained that focus.
I find a battle within myself to know if it's because I want to continue to get better, yeah, or if I'm so scared to go backwards and I don't want to go back to being just a kid from Tomball. I love where I'm from without a doubt, but I don't think just a kid from Tomball would be sitting on this show with you. So I want to continue to get better, and I think that's why I do it, But I get lost. Is it because I do really want to get better? Or is it because I'm scared of going backwards.
I feel like that's the theme of your life as well. You're one of those people who not only wants to become better, not only wants to improve the situation of your life, but you do that for people around you. One thing you'll always hear about Jimmy Butler no matter who you speak to in the league, people who know you, they go, he has the biggest family you've ever come across. And they don't mean like like immediate family, they mean
like chosen family. You've hired anyone you've met anywhere who is amazing, you know, whether it's whether it's drivers or trainers or people you just you just brought people into your little organization and said, hey, let's grow together as people. Why what is it about other human beings that makes you want to improve their lives?
I think that.
Somewhere down the line on many different parts of my life, somebody have given me a chance, whether it be a junior college at Marquette, you know, with the Chicago Bulls now with Miami that I've come across so many great people and I want them to help me be better as I help them be better. And when I say family, it's like we do everything together. When I have to be up at four am, they have to be up. Oh wow, yeah, everybody not a game. Everybody, Yes, you do,
but but that's it. I think everybody loves the work. It reminds me of why I do what I do. I know that if I'm not the best at what I do, I can't continue to make those.
Guys be the best at what they do.
You also have an interesting life that many people wouldn't know about you. You know, it began in an interesting way. But you are a passionate wine collector, and your dream is to just like retire on a vineyard, just.
Like go out there, like grow great and never see me again.
You may be able to see me again via Skype or whatever they use nowadays.
It's just like gonna be you. It's just like doing your thing.
And my family where we're all going and then everyone's gonna be picking the grapes.
Oh yeah, except for me. I don't work way too hard. I gotta put my feet up and enjoy it. Why wine, though, I don't know. I feel like wine.
To me is a lot like people in the sense that it tells a different story, every bottle, every vintage, every year.
And the more.
People that I come across, and I learn so much about different people in different cultures.
Yeah, wine for.
Me, you might get a little buzz from it, but that never hurt.
It's the best. It tells the story it does.
I know that you celebrated the birth of your son daughter, the daughter. Congratulations, congratulations, Yes, so I know.
So you celebrated.
You celebrated the birth of your daughter, and it was a big moment for you. You didn't even play in the games, like a lot of people would still go play. You're like, no, I'm out. You know, Miami Heat will have to play without me. I'm going to be there with my child. Did you have a special bottle of wine for that occasion? Because I know like wine collectors have the everyone goes
like there's a wine for every occasion. Was there a wine that you was special enough for you to open for having a child.
I was in a hospital, so I didn't really know if you were supposed to.
Be drinking in the hospital. So, uh no, I can't.
Say that there's a special bottle. It was just it was a special moment, right. It really put a lot of things in perspective to think that, you know, it was I don't know what to call it, the next of age player in Miami after the great Dwayne Wade, YadA, YadA, YadA, and I missed my opening nights rights and so I was called him like, oh man, I really love basketball, and I really love.
My family, and I'm about to have a daughter and be a father. What do I do?
And I called Coach Bo and he was like, all right, well we'll see you in a couple of days. Go to the hospital. And it made it easy for me.
That is really amazing.
I'm excited for what the future is gonna bring. I know you guys are playing the paces again, so we'll see where the kiss takes us.
I know you guys are gonna handle it on the call.
Thank you so much for being on the show.
Should be Butler, thank you show.
Me Buffler, everybody from the Miami Heat.
Mike Yes, tonight is an On Tripreneill, three time.
NBA champion and twelve time All starf now playing his sixteenth and final season for the Miami Heat.
Please welcome, do one world.
Welcome.
Awesome.
Man, Wow, I feel like we had the American airlis Arena.
Yeah.
Man, this is Look at this, man, this is all you.
Welcome, Welcome to the show. Thank you, Thank you so much for making the time.
I mean, I like everyone wants a piece of Dwayne Wade down in Miami.
We're so lucky to get you.
Let's just jump straight into what is a culmination of one of the most prolific sporting careers people have ever seen.
This is your final season in the NBA?
Is it is?
It? Is? It surreal for you every game you play.
First of all, thank you for thanks for having me on the show. I appreciate it. Thank you. You know what, And I've been I've been playing a game of basketball since I was five years old. I am now thirty six. I've been playing for thirty one years. So this is what I've mastered, right, this is what I've been good and great at. So it definitely. It definitely is a
little nerve wrecking. You know, you're a little nervous because I don't know if I'd be great at anything else, like I am basketball, right, But you know, I just decided after long summer, you know, of really thinking about how I wanted to see my career. In getting opportunity last year to come back to Miami, I just felt, yeah, I felt I felt the timing was perfect for me. I don't want people to think I'm retiring because I
can't play no more. I just want people to understand I'm retiring because I'm ready to walk and do something different now because I can't play the game of basketball.
I I came out and watched my my fresh Miami Heat game and you playing, and to see the love in the crowd was amazing. But what's also interesting is to see how that love follows you off the court as well. You You, you're somebody who has had the opportunity to engage in business opportunities beyond just basketball. You You're you're you're a mogul now, I mean you you're involved in clothing. You you know, you're involved in your
own shoe line. You have ties, you have socks, you have, luggage, you have like Dwayne Wade, seems like it doesn't seem like you're gonna be struggling.
To do anything when you leave the NBA.
What do you enjoy about being in business?
What I enjoy about is, first of all, you know, just being a young kid from the nacity of Chicago. My dream was to play Chateau. Okay, my dream was to play in the NBA. And once I got opportunity to get here, then so many doors opened for me, and I was able to step through those doors and learn different things that I never really thought that I had the passion for or the knowledge for. So I've been able all these things that I've been a part of,
this thing stuff I went to school for. You know, this is stuff that I either had, you know, I've learned through traveling or I've learned through meeting people that oh I like that, Oh let me think about doing that. So all these things that I'm that I'm doing, I've picked up along the way of just living life and
going places that being open to new things. So I enjoy it, you know, I enjoy being able to use my creativity to have an amazing team behind me, to be able to use their create creativity and be able to hopefully give the consumers, give my supporters, give the fans, you know, something that they love and enjoy as well. So that's what I'm trying to do.
Right and you're you're doing it a thousand times over. You have you have the business, you have the basketball, and a large part of Dwayne Wade has been getting involved in the community. You know, you've mentioned a few times now coming from Chicago, growing up in Chicago. You know, as many of us know, we've been on a journey with you as fans where we've gone through the ups and downs of Chicago. In your life, you know, losing loved ones to gun violence was a really tough time.
For many people.
I'm sure you the most. When you when you look at that journey and when you when you look at what you want to do now in both Chicago and Miami. You have a few initiatives that you're working on. Now, what is your dream? What are you trying to implement in the communities to try and help people.
Yeah, So when I was when I was a little kid, you know, I just remember, you know, I always saying to myself, if if God blessed me with an opportunity to to make it right, to to be able to give back to others. I want to do it. I want to do it in a big way, you know. I want to. I want to be able to bless communities in a way that it's going to change their lives if I get that opportunity. And once I got the opportunity, I wanted to live right, you know, I
want to. I want to do what I said. So, you know, in Chicago, first, from my mother's standpoint, I say, you know what, my here's a church. You do your part with the church. I bought my mom at church early on so she can continue to.
Save lives church.
I bought my mom at church.
That's all.
That's a whole nother story how we got to that point. But I ended up at my mom at church and I said, you do your job to you know, to save lives. And my mother is an amazing pastor in the city of Chicago. My dad, my dad is into the community. My dad it does amazing That's why I got it from and watched my dad for so many years give back to the community. You had me out there as a kid, even though we didn't have a lot of things we had we had to give, giveaway,
give to others. If I had two pair of shoes, I only end up having one because I gave the other pair aways. So I kind of had a family that I've watched my whole life kind of make sure they give. And we didn't have a lot. We didn't have a lot at all, but what we had was more than what others had, and so we wanted to make sure that we can, you know, we can give to the others. So it kind of started from there.
And then when I got to college, my college coach always told me, you always said, Duane, too much as given much as required, too much as given much as required. And I know what he meant at the time, And then once I got older, I still understand what that means. I've been given so much and a lot that is required of me. It's required of me, and not only to give from my pockets, but to lend my voice, to lend my face, to stand up on this platform and support and talk about so all those things.
That's something you haven't been afraid of doing.
You know, there are a lot of athletes who have been afraid of lending their voice to causes that they believe in, on people that they support. You know, your good friend, basically your brother, Lebron James, is somebody that you've been on a journey with for many years where you've been speaking about issues. We've seen you at sports ceremonies. We've seen you with the Parkland kid friends. Parkland kids friends that you spent three hours with them the first day they came back to school.
Why do you think, why do you think.
As a as an athlete's as an athlete, why do you think it's so important for you to step out from beyond the game and to engage in ideas that you believe in?
Well, you know, going back to that, we was in Philadelphia when we heard the news about what happened, and I didn't know exactly where it was at. And immediately, as a parent, I got scared because I have kids in school, and I knew it was what area was in, but I didn't know which school. So immediately I'm scared. Right,
I'm the hardest racis. I'm being fast. I'm trying to call my kids, and eventually I got on the phone with my kids and I realized that they was okay, But then I knew that other parents out there was hurting the same way that I was hurting, was feeling that same anxiety. So once we got a as a come back to the city, it was just like, Hey, can I go to the school? Can I go up there and visit? And I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I just want to be able to bring some
sort of light. I had just got back to the city. The city of Miami had welcomed me back with open arms when I got traded back, and I wanted to bring some light. So I had an opportunity to go, and I didn't know what to expect. It was real quiet when I got there, but man, when the kids saw me, it just opened them up. The light in
their eyes, the housing their faces. That right there was one of the biggest, one of the most important moments in my life of you know what what basketball has done for me and the platform that I have, this is what it's about. And I got an opportunity to sit down in the room with their leaders and talk to him about, Hey, what can I do, what can my team do to help support you guys initiative? What you're trying to do. And it started from you know what,
my voice. Then it went from the support financially and so forth and so on, and we could see you to do things. We did exhibits here in Miami and New York, in LA we could see you to support because this is my community, this is our community, and it means a lot to us.
As you can tell, the people love you as much as you love them.
Duane Wade.
Everybody explore more shows from The Daily Show podcast universe by searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch The Daily Show week nights at eleven.
Ten Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus.
This has been a Comedy Central podcast