Jimmy Butler may just be the most fascinating character in American sports today. The Miami Heat guard is at the highest echelon of his craft, a six-time All-Star and one of the NBA’s best players, whose ability to dominate in the biggest moments has earned him comparisons to fellow Chicago Bulls alum Michael Jordan. But what truly sets Butler apart from his peers is the fact that his athletic success, including two NBA finals appearances in the last four years, may be the least interesting thing about him. He embodies “containing multitudes”, and on a Friday morning in December, over a cappuccino, Jimmy Butler doesn’t want to talk about basketball.
Butler, for starters, wants to talk about coffee. He lights up immediately when I bring up his three-year-old coffee company BIGFACE and, while listening to him excitedly recount “origin trips” he’s taken to places like Colombia and Peru – “I wanted to learn what it really takes to make coffee, I’m talking from the ground up” – it’s easy to forget the 34-year-old is one of the biggest names in professional basketball. He’s eager to give recommendations for favorite coffee shops – he name-checks Forin Cafe in Philadelphia, Mammoth Espresso in New Orleans and Hex Coffee in Charlotte among his favorite to visit – and exhibits genuine exuberance when talking about BIGFACE, which was first conceived in the NBA’s Disney World bubble during the coronavirus pandemic when Butler began charging his fellow players $20 a cup for the coffee he brewed in his hotel room.
