As a guest on The JJ Redick Podcast, Jimmy Butler relived the infamous Timberwolves practice from October.
Butler, who apparently dominated on both ends of the floor while playing with the third-stringers, told Redick that he only shot the ball one time.
The most interesting detail of that whole scrimmage that nobody knows: I only shot the ball once.
I was dominating, but I only shot the ball once. Dimes, boom, boom, boom. Steals, blocks. I only shot the ball one time.
According to Butler, Timberwolves management informed him that he had to practice that day, which “lit a fire.”
Weāre literally just talking, and then somebody says: ‘Youāre gonna practice.’ Now, first of all, I have a for-real problem with authority. When somebodyās telling me what to do as a grown man, I have a problem with it. So now you done lit the match, but aināt nothinā on fire yet. You just lit the match.
I was like: ‘First of all, youāre not going to tell me what Iām gonna do. If I choose to practice, Iāll choose to practice.’ And Iām like: ‘Nah, I donāt know just yet.’ And then he was like: ‘No, youāre gonna practice.’ Now youāre getting that fire a little too close to me, so Iām like: ‘Let me tell you something, if Iām going to practice, Iāll come off the bench, like Iāll play with this second group if I want to as long as Iām out there in practice.’ Boom.
This person goes: ‘No, youāre gonna play with the starters.’ There you go. You did got me now. No Iām not. Iām gonna play with the third-stringers, now what? Iām telling them I donāt think itās a good idea to do it, because I know whenever I go in there, Iām trying to basically just prove a point.
I was on one, there you go. I was on one. All because he lit the match. I wouldāve been cool otherwise.
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