Death of Demaryius Thomas Hits Home For Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler

The death of former NFL receiver Demaryius Thomas Thursday shocked the sports world.

Among the many mourners was Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler. Both athletes formed a strong bond years ago when Butler was playing with the Chicago Bulls and Thomas for the Denver Broncos.

Thomas died at the age of 33. The cause of death was reportedly seizures. In 2015, Butler reached out to Thomas after reading a story about him. Both players had similar upbringing, rising from broken homes to stardom.

"It's just how all the odds were stacked against him to not make it, to do wrong," Butler told DenverBroncos.com in 2015. "He did what he wanted to do and he turned his life to be successful and he's here now at the top of his game and he really deserves it. Every time I always talk to him over the summer like 'Hey, what's up? Where you at?' he always says 'I'm here, training, getting ready. And for me, I really look up to that because I did the exact same thing. It's the offseason but I'm always working because this is what I love to do. This is what he loves to do and it shows. He's not the player he is because he took a couple days off; he's the player he is because he works so incredibly hard."

Jimmy Butler watching a game with his collection of his friend Demaryius Thomas' jerseys.

(2016) pic.twitter.com/YPI8RKpsKJ
— Hoops Nostalgia (@HoopsNostalgia) December 10, 2021

Butler and Thomas often worked out together in the offseason. In 2018, they visited Greece together.

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