Jeff Teague’s Story About Jimmy Butler Shows His Passion Toward the Game

Jeff Teague recalls Jimmy Butler’s 2018 practice outburst when they were with the Minnesota Timberwolves

Many compare Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler to NBA legend Michael Jordan. The playmaking and shot selection is one thing, but it’s the mentality that draws a lot of similarities between the two.

Jeff Teague, who was Butler’s teammate with the Minnesota Timberwolves, can attest to that from when the two were playing together in 2018. Teague gave his angle of the infamous heated practice where Butler beat Minnesota’s starters with the third unit.

“They beat us like 18-6, and Jimmy going crazy,” Teague said on the Club 520 podcast recently. “‘Y’all think that team can win without me? I’m him! Pay me!’ Mind you, he didn’t take his Jordan warm up yet. He finally takes it off, and he got the Timberwolves shirt on. But he cut the Minnesota out, so it’s just his chest. He cut it out his shorts, so it’s just shorts. So I’m crying now because bro is crazy. But I ain’t realize, he just beat us with the G League team. He’s like, ‘I just beat them with the G-Leaguers, this is your starters?’ I’m crying laughing, until I realized he was talking about me.”

It’s a good time to watch Jeff Teague tell the legendary Jimmy Butler Timberwolves practice story pic.twitter.com/M49EfWfzuu

— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) April 30, 2023

At the time, Butler was seeking a trade from Minnesota. He had a notorious feud with Timberwolves power forward Karl Anthony-Towns, and directed his frustration to coach Tom Thibodeau and general manager Scott Layden. He was labeled as a locker room cancer but many on the outside could recognize his Jordan-like fire to elevate himself and his teammates.

Now, Butler resides in Miami, where he has the opportunity to advance to his third conference finals in the past four seasons. The Heat play the New York Knicks and Thibodeau Wednesday night in an attempt to close out the series.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.