Did Jimmy Butler end Celtics' coach Joe Mazzulla's NBA playing career? Former Big East star's complicated past explored

Jimmy Butler is tearing through the NBA playoffs right now, specifically the Boston Celtics. Boston's head coach, Joe Mazzulla, may be having nightmares about Butler these days. However, these two actually have a history dating back to Big East basketball.

Joe Mazzulla's final season as a West Virginia Mountaineer was the 2010-11 season. Jimmy Butler was a Marquette Golden Eagle that year and his team faced West Virginia in the Big East tournament. Marquette won the game, although it wasn't the final time that Mazzulla would suit up.

Kentucky was the team to end Mazzulla's playing career, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Butler only handed him the penultimate loss of his on-court career. It's still an interesting tidbit that these two crossed paths over a decade ago.

For Jimmy Butler, getting to Marquette and facing West Virginia was difficult enough. Now, he's one of the NBA's brightest stars. Here's a look back at his journey to the league.

How Jimmy Butler found a home

As a teenager, Jimmy Butler's mom kicked him out of her house. He was then couch surfing while in high school. Butler played basketball, but he wasn't getting major offers from Division I programs.

Instead, he began his collegiate career at Tyler Junior College. Butler had a phenomenal freshman season, which landed him an offer from Marquette. He cracked the starting lineup as a junior, before wrapping up his collegiate career during the 2010-11 season.

In Butler's two seasons as a starter, he averaged over 14.5 points per game. Along with that, he was racking up over six rebounds, two assists, and a steal in those years. The result was getting drafted into the NBA by the Chicago Bulls.

Year	Points	Field Goal Percentage	Rebounds	Assists	Steals
Junior	14.7	53.0%	6.4	2.0	1.3
Senior	15.7	49.0%	6.1	2.3	1.4

Butler in the NBA

This part is much more familiar to most people. Butler made his debut with Chicago and was with the Bulls from 2011 to 2017. He had his first few All-Star seasons with Chicago before being traded to Minnesota during the 2017 offseason.

He had a short stint with the Timberwolves and an even shorter one with the Philadelphia 76ers in the ensuing seasons. Following the 2019 playoffs, Butler was a free agent. It was then that he chose Miami, where he's flourished ever since.

Boston Celtics v Miami Heat - Game Three

Jimmy Butler may be secure in South Beach now, but that wasn't always the case. He's bounced between homes, both literally and professionally along the way.

Butler's also had plenty of foils throughout his life, and Joe Mazzulla happens to have been a victim, twice.