Jimmy Butler has been living a pretty charmed life over the last few years, as he has led the Miami Heat to two NBA Finals appearances in the last four seasons.
His life off the court has also been heating up, as he has reportedly been dating Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira.
For decades, NBA stars have also been big stars off the court and in pop culture as a whole, which has allowed them to hook up with seemingly most women of their choice.
“They have been out a few times, but things are very new and it’s too early to tell if there’s long-term potential there,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly, adding that their 13-year age difference “doesn’t bother” Shakira “whatsoever.”
This privilege has led to some high-profile relationships in the NBA, including a few involving members of the Kardashian family, such as Khloe Kardashian, who was married to former Heat forward Lamar Odom for a few years.
But when Butler first came to the Heat four years ago, his reputation wasn’t exactly stellar.
During his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he was accused of being a malcontent and a negative influence on his teammates. Much of that criticism came from the fact that he has a fire-and-brimstone style of leadership, which isn’t a good fit for young, cultureless squads.
But the Heat have a much-lauded championship-level culture that is based on accountability and hard work, and Butler has been seemingly tailor-made for it. They got to the championship series in his first season there, and all of a sudden, he was praised for being a strong leader.
Butler is also one of the game’s deadliest offensive threats in crunch time, and he inspires fear and possibly even post-traumatic stress disorder in opponents with some of the shots he makes in such situations. This past season, he threw daggers in the hearts of the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs as Miami pulled off a monumental upset.
The hope across South Florida right now is that Butler will form another high-profile relationship soon — that of himself and Damian Lillard. Lillard has requested a trade, and he has said the Heat are the one team he wants to be sent to.