Jimmy Butler Goes Rocky Balboa on Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

Ho ho! That's the what?

It's what we came here for. It's what we came here for.

That is not what we came here for.

Hey, what's going on, everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans, and you're watching Hot Ones. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. And today we're joined by NBA superstar Jimmy Butler. He's a 4-time All-Star and one of the best defensive players in the NBA. But how will he handle a full-court press of spicy-ass chicken wings? We'll find out today, Jimmy Butler. Welcome to the show.

Thank you.

I know that you're a Texas man. How do you handle your heat?

This? It's not me. Spicy foods? We'll find out very shortly, I'll tell you that.

No pressure, but Joel Embiid, your teammate, came in here, crushed the Wings of Death. No pressure, I'm just saying.

So basically what you're saying is I definitely have to make it through all 10.

Tennessee's wings.

Here we go. Please, please, please don't let me pass out. And help Neymar's leg get better.

Amen.

So earlier this year you launched a YouTube channel, and I'll go on record as saying, as if this basketball thing doesn't work out, you have a really bright future as a travel vlogger. What's the most mind-blowing thing you learned about wine when you visited the Sassicaia winery in Florence, Italy?

Woo-wee! You snuck up on me right there. Tell you the truth, I forgot the question you just asked. I was focused in. I'm gonna try not to let it hurt me too bad.

Mm-hmm.

Um, damn. I would have to say how everything goes into it, how it rained at a certain time, how it was so hot at a certain time, how the breeze from the ocean came in at a certain time. Oh, it snowed a little bit. And how all that stuff matters. So that's how they, can tell, you know, what years are gonna be like other years because they track the weather for the most part. I mean, I was listening in to a lot of it, but then it just started going over my head 'cause there's pros at it and I just drink the stuff. But it was interesting. But to say that I have a career afterwards doing the whole travel vlog thing, I appreciate it. And I'll bring you on my YouTube.

All right, I'll hold you to that.

We can do it.

I'll hold you to that.

We can do it.

Do you remember the first time that you ever had a $1,000+ bottle of wine? Like, did it really taste that different, that much better than all the wines you'd had before?

Well, I was spoiled for the first wine that I ever drank. Mark Wahlberg introduced me to Sesakaya. 2010 was the first bottle that I had. That's all I've basically really ever known.

So it set a high taste level.

Yeah, it did. You know, in college, I didn't drink the boxed wine like everybody would say. We were straight off the Hennessy, straight off the Courvoisier, the Irkenjerk, all of that good stuff. And now, It's like I don't even drink liquor like that. It's just all wine.

So few players have had this constant upward momentum in the league, going from a 30th overall pick to a 4-time All-Star. When you think of all the vets that you've played with, can you point to one that really stands out as helping you to unlock your potential?

I would say 2 guys. One, obviously Luau, Luau Deng. Who I still talk to to this day. That's my guy. 3 guys, I take that back. Rip Hamilton was the absolute best at just telling me the truth every single day. "Yo, Jimmy, how you doing?" "I'm good, Rip, how are you?" "All right, now that the people part is out the way, you was on some bullshit here. You saw that bullshit you did there?" I was like, "Damn, Rip, like, you're not gonna ask me, like, if my body hurts?" Didn't care. He just wanted me to be the best player that I could be. Love him for that. And, man, Kirk Heinrich, like, that guy, when you talk about Toughness, that shit inspired the hell out of me watching Kurt go at it with the best.

Who sets the hardest screens in the NBA?

Steven Adams.

Yeah?

Easily. DJ, DeAndre Jordan, wait, what's it? I think it was this elbow. He tore some ligaments in this elbow one year. He set a screen on me. Now we're like best buds, but at that point in time, we were friends, but I wanted to break his fucking nose.

Do you have a favorite Brian Scalabrine memory from your time with the Chicago Bulls?

Probably just how I used to beat his ass one-on-one. White Mamba, that's his thing. Like, "Oh, Black Mamba, I am the second coming of Kobe." I think Scal got the worst of my one-on-one days back then. I love you, Scal. Thank you for that, Scal. You're my guy.

And then finally, what do you think is the biggest difference between a college player and his relationship to his coach and an NBA player and his relationship to his coach? Is it different?

Hell yeah, it's different. Buzz Williams, who's a lot like tibs in a sense that they're gonna yell at you, they're gonna motherfuck you, they're gonna say it all, you know? And that's how they talk to you. I think in the league, you can't really talk to nobody like that. You know what I mean?

Yeah, it's like if you're like a child actor and you're making more than your parents, like they kinda can't tell you to clean your room.

I did not say that. So you're not gonna say that I said that I tell these little kids not to clean their room. Something like that though. Yeah. Like, it's tough to yell at a grown man who potentially is making more money than you. Not saying that you shouldn't listen to people, but it's a different level. I'm eating your wing on the next one, 'cause you're not fazed by this one. Can I switch it right now?

Let's switch.

No, no, no, I just want one wing.

Okay, let's switch our fours.

Yeah, okay. You trust me? I washed my hands before. I trust you.

Okay, perfect.

You didn't ask if I trust you, but I'mma just go with it.

Do you trust me?

Of course I do.

So there's this thinking that hip-hop rules the NBA, whether it's J. Cole showing up at the dunk contest or LeBron rapping on his IG story, but I know for you, country music sits on the throne. When you think about all the locker room aux cord fights you've gotten into over your love of country music, is there a story that stands out?

Boom!

Woo!

Uh-oh.

We didn't hit that point. We didn't hit that point. You're not gonna get me. They told me not to drink nothing. So I don't know why you got this. Here, put this on your side. I'm not drinking nothing.

All right, well, it's within arm's reach if you end up in a bad place, Jimmy.

Tell you what.

Oh.

I would say the one story that I have comes from Anas Muhammad. I knew that he was recording me, but I didn't think that he would post it anywhere. And so, you know, I'm in there dancing and singing to myself in my bag, in my zone. Next thing I know, there's a viral video of me going around listening to Taylor Swift. Am I happy about it?

Yeah.

'Cause I like the song. I love country music. I am who I am. That's what I listen to before games, as anybody will tell you. I like it.

So everyone loves to tell the story of Michael Jordan getting cut from his varsity team when he was a sophomore, but your stories of triumph, I really think, are the ones the hoop dreams that more people should talk about. In a counterintuitive way, do you think that playing at a junior college gave you a competitive edge when you entered the NBA?

When you go to JUCO, it's like legit a dog-eat-dog world. Like, if you pass that ball in junior college, you may not— well, not may not, you probably won't get it back. Like, that's the way that JUCO is, cuz everybody's trying to get to that next level.

Right.

Rightfully so. To get to Division I from there and continue to get better every year, But Juco is, was fun.

When you think of some of the hard-nosed, grinded-out players that have been in the NBA, whether it's Bill Lambert or Charles Oakley or Kevin Garnett, do you feel a kinship? Do you feel like maybe that type of competitor is less common these days?

I think so, nowadays. Do I think it's a problem? No. I just think the game has changed. And it's gonna change again in, I don't know, 10, 15, 20, name it. But you still got guys that swing at each other, as we can tell from what Ibaka got into the other night. Fresh highlight. Right? Yeah. I love it. I think that even though the game has changed, you still got, you still got some of that old bread that's mixed in the new guys.

On my way.

Thank you for the sip.

Whoa.

All right, Jimmy, we have a recurring segment on our show called Explain That Gram, where we do a deep dive on our guest's Instagram, pull interesting pictures that need more context.

So I'll bust out the laptop.

I'll show you the picture. You just tell me the bigger story. Does that sound good?

On my Instagram?

Yeah.

Oh, snap.

We cyberstalked ya.

Oh, no. I can only imagine.

All right, first things first. What did you and AI talk about?

Did you guys talk about practice?

Uh, no, man. Me and AI, we were talking about a conversation that we had in All-Star when we were in LA. Actually, right before this jersey swap, we were laughing at the fact that every time we come together, he's always like, "Yo, you fit Philly. You a dog." Like, every single time, word for word. That's it. And look at us now.

So he called that at, like, an All-Star Game years ago?

Yeah. He just said, "You fit Philly." He did not say, "Yo, come to Philly," like, 'cause that's tampering. Right, right, right. No, no, no, no. None of that happened.

He just saw the tea leaves. He saw into the future.

He saw it. Smart man.

We love a good MJ story. Do you remember the first time you ever met Michael Jordan?

In this particular photo, he did win the shooting contest. He chose a kid, I chose a kid. But it's his camp. So he knows what kids to choose.

Right.

Like, he saw the kids shoot and he saw— so I'm like, "OK, cool." Excuse me. Starting to sneak up on me right there. Um, so in this particular place, he did win. But it didn't show the other times that I actually won. That's the thing that got me. Like, all the video that came out is the one of him just busting my ass with his kids. And I was just like, "What about the other 3 times we played that me and the kid I picked actually won?" That just goes to show you that Instagram ain't worth a damn.

Exactly.

Deebo. That's my man right there.

What'd you do with the gold medal?

It's at home, wrapped in a towel, in my second drawer from the top to the far left. But that's for real one of the most special moments to me, just because I never thought that I would be in the NBA. Never thought that I would have a Division I scholarship. Never thought I'd make it out of junior college, don't get me wrong. But with all of that said that I'd done, you'd never be able to tell me that I'd be an Olympic gold medalist out of everything. No. Like, that shit, that's a photo.

What's it like training with Antonio Brown and Russell Wilson?

Humbling. I'm a competitor. I still think I owe him, it's like $30,000 because I made a bet that I could stop him from catching a ball in the red zone.

Didn't work out for ya.

You know, you're talking about the best receiver in the league and then Russ, the quarterback. Just saying, if the Raiders had me opposite of him, You never know where we could go.

Well, I did see you smoke Klay Thompson on that go route.

We don't wanna talk about that, but since you brought it up, he can't guard me on the football field either.

Set, go. 1, 2, 3, 4. Ah!

Adobo loco. Kalohe kid. I'm handling this better than I thought I would. I should probably not say that cuz I'mma jinx myself. I feel like it's gonna get me. But for now, I think I'm OK.

So over the past few years, you've become a frequent target of this sort of sports talk radio criticism. And I'm curious—

I love it.

You love it?

I love it.

What do they get wrong about you, and when are they right?

Uh, I mean, in what parts? You probably know it. You did your research. So, like, gimme something that you would say, like, "Oh, they say this, they say that." Well, let's take maybe that Timberwolves practice.

OK.

The famous Timberwolves practice, for example, you know? Does the reaction to that story surprise you with how big it was?

Does it surprise me? No. Nothing surprises me nowadays just because of social media. Like, if— this was before the social media age, you wouldn't know about it. I mean, we probably wouldn't be sitting here eating hot wings together either. But I think that all of that blows it out of proportion. Now, do I talk shit a lot in practice? Yes. Do I take it there? No. I was just in the zone. Like, I love basketball so much. Like, I was competing at a high level, and then boom, it happened. But unless you're with me every day and you see how I go about what I do, you'd understand why I care so much. Like, this morning at 4, when I was up getting ready to go lift, go shoot, and go do Pilates, a lot of people were asleep. I'm at a different point in my career than I am now, than I was in 2011 when I entered the league, and if I played well or not, it didn't matter. I wanna be a hunnid like that all the time, but I can't. I mean, I can, but I probably shouldn't. That's it.

That's it.

This one, though— It looks frightening.

Exactly.

As long as we're on the same page.

Ooh.

Yeah.

It pisses me off 'cause it looks like honey mustard that's in there. But it's not honey mustard.

Definitely not.

Definitely not.

Yes!

We— Oh-ho!

That's what—

It's what we came here for. It's what we came here for.

That is not what we came here for.

So it's well documented that you and Mark Wahlberg have this BFF relationship for the ages. I see you guys golfing in France or playing with dusty wine cellar bottles.

Has anybody ever started crying on your show?

Yeah.

Many people. You wouldn't be the first, won't be the last, Jimmy. Let it fly.

Well, at least it look like I'm crying about me and Mark's friendship, 'cause it's a beautiful thing if I was to start crying.

That's right.

Uh, to this day, uh, it's the craziest story. I think whenever I talk, it cools down. Like I said, we're going back in time to September 13th of 2013. So we came out to— the Bulls practice facility in Deerfield. And for some reason, he's going around the wall, he's like, "Yo, I wanna play with him." And we ended up playing, me and his crew. Then he was like, "You know, tomorrow you should come to the set and check out Transformers," 'cause that's the movie they was filming. And then we went and watched a boxing match, Floyd against somebody. It was September 14th, 2013. And then the crazy part is, he gave me his number. Damn, I shouldn't have swallowed.

Ah!

He gave me his number. He was like, "Yeah, no problem, man. You know, whenever you come to LA, come by the house." I was like, "What?" And so, you know, I get to LA and I was like, "Yo, I'm here." He was like, "All right, cool. Come by the crib." Here, pick up this baseball bat and hit a home run. He could do it. Kick this soccer ball into the—

he could do it.

Mark's one of those people. He's special, man. He's special.

Well, shout out Mark Wahlberg. Are you ready to move on to—

No. Every time you ask me that question, I say no. And I damn sure don't want to bite it in this one.

But you keep moving on, though. And I respect that.

Moving on up. You heard them pipes? You heard it.

Media. Ooh. I know how to— yeah.

I know how to react, how you react.

Holy moly.

You don't drink nothing?

You put them over here. They're within reach. I have this weird habit of always just mirroring the guest.

No, don't do that, 'cause I'm gonna mirror you. So if you mirroring me and I'm mirroring you and neither one of us doing shit—

Then we're just stuck in a standoff. We're stuck in a milk standoff. We're going in for the milk.

Cheers.

Cheers. Cheers.

How much do I drink?

Like, good. Good swig.

You know, I'm lactose intolerant, so if I start breaking wind—

It's okay. You get a long leash on this show. You get a long leash on this show. Are you still playing the grocery store game whereby you'll buy the groceries for whoever is behind you regardless of what they're buying? Regardless of how big their cart is?

I haven't been to a grocery store in a long time. I haven't been to a grocery store in a long time. But when I do go—

Mmm.

Yes, I would do that. My answers are finna get shorter and shorter 'cause I have my mouth closed.

What do you think's the biggest bill you've ever had to foot?

Probably about— I don't know, $500, $600?

Yeah. And then, you know, you often demonstrate your man of the people sensibilities even in your car. You know, in the NBA, this place where everyone's got a Wraith or a Bentley or an Escalade, you'll still pull up in a minivan. Why is the minivan still the king of the road for you? Careful around your eyes.

Oh. Yeah, you're right.

Oh man.

Uh, oh.

Yo, that one's OD.

Mm-hmm, you're telling me.

I love the minivan. It's real, you don't know it's me. It has my baby on board sticker in the back. There's no baby on board.

But that's smart, you're throwing everyone off the trail.

Throw 'em all off. I do have some other cars though, but that's what I'm in majority of the time.

I know you're not ready for the next one.

I gotta keep this away from my eye.

But the next one's ready for you. This is Hellfire.

Fear this.

I'm glad y'all getting a fucking kick out of this back there. Sierra, I'm not gonna let you touch my lips this time.

All right.

Can y'all hear me smacking?

So I know that you're an avid jet-setter in the offseason, traveling around the world from the beaches of Mykonos all the way to China. Between you, Russell Westbrook, and Dwyane Wade, Who got the best fit pics off at last year's Paris Fashion Week?

I'm gonna put myself in third.

Humble of you. That's that minivan man right there.

You right. D-Wade and Russ, they really do it. They spend a lot of time at fashion shows and all that good stuff. And they do it the right way. I will tell you that. One lowlight, it be so hot at them damn fashion shows. I sweat easily. When the lights is on, if it's hot, I can't do it. When I'm hot, I can't function, which is why I can't function right now, 'cause my whole body is on fire from eating these hot wings. But I would say a highlight is the night that we got to drink a lot of wine together. A lot of stories told, a lot of memories made.

When Gabrielle Union was on the show, she said that Carmelo Anthony is the real wine connoisseur. Of the NBA. Did you guys try any bottles during that trip to France?

We tried a lot of bottles. The one bottle that nobody got to try because Carmelo Anthony decided to walk away with this bottle was a bottle of Patrus. He, like, we— they were literally lined up like these hot sauce bottles, and the Patrus is in the middle, and it was like the last bottle that nobody drank. And so we're thinking like, oh, after we take these photos, We gonna all sit back down and then we gonna— the Petrus is the one.

We gonna have it. Saving it for last.

All of a sudden, Melo was like, "All right, man, that's a good evening. Let's all go." And nobody's realized that nobody's drank that bottle of wine yet. So everybody's like, "Yeah, let's go. Good night, man. Good people, good wine." And as we're leaving, out the corner of my eye, I see Melo over there posing with the bottle of Petrus. And it's just like, well, damn, Melo got the best of the best. That was a really good night.

The gondola boats in Venice, overrated or underrated?

What are you doing?

Gondola boats, overrated or underrated?

What are you doing?

Well, this is the last dab, Jimmy Butler Iii. We call it the last dab because it's tradition around here to put a little extra on the last wing. You don't have to if you don't want to.

Now, come on now, you know I have to. But with that being said, I think it is, for me, I think the boats are overrated. As you can tell from, hold on, man, I'm getting too much up outta there.

There we go. All right.

Here goes nothing.

Here it goes.

I did it.

I did it.

All right, Jimmy Butler, here we are at the end of the line, fourth quarter. With time running out, I know that for Jimmy Butler, when it starts to heat up like it is right now, that means that it's bandana season. So here on Wing 10, someone bring in the bandanas. I need a step-by-step tutorial on how to sport the best possible bandana for eating scorching hot chicken wings.

I got you. So first you— Fold it in half this way, like this right here. Then you just kind of roll it up. Normally, it looks better whenever I have braids. You know, the honeys like it when I got braid.

And then just get a little roll?

Yeah, it's good. Like this right here. Keep going. Keep going. And the last little bit, put on there, you know, tuck it a little bit like that, dirt. Yeah.

Let's do this.

Wow.

It feels right. It fits perfect. I think that this might be the look going forward And look at you, Jimmy Butler, going 10 wings up, 10 wings down, just like your teammate Joel Embiid, and with even less of a sweat.

I look like Rocky?

You look exactly like Rocky at the top of the steps.

Whoa!

And now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you, Jimmy Buckets. This camera, this camera, this camera. Let the people know what you have going on in your life.

I'm gonna tell you what. Jimmy Butler is on YouTube. Y'all go check it out. Uh, I'm stoked right now that I made it through these 10 wings. Not gonna lie, I didn't even think I was gonna make it, so I don't even know what to say. I really don't. Hold on. Hold that thought. And come to all the Philly games, 'cause we need all the fans that we can get.

Good job, Jimmy.

Good job. Woo! I made it! Yo, I done made it! We did it! We did it! I'm hyped!

Yeah.

I'm hyped!

That's great.

My tongue red?

Yeah.

I mean, it's always red, but you know what I mean.

It's a special kind of red. It's a special kind of red today.

Hey, what's going on, everybody? This is Sean Evans checking in with a quick hot sauce update. If you'd like to try the classic Los Calientes or the Last Dab Redux, heatness.com, heatness.com has you covered. If hot sauce isn't your thing, maybe check out a t-shirt or a hoodie over at shop.complex.com. And if none of that interests you, I have been really getting into matcha lately. Matcha lattes, matcha smoothies, matcha pudding. I don't know how I went 32 years on this planet without discovering matcha, but now I have and it has been a complete game changer. We don't sell any matcha products whatsoever, but I'm just saying. You should try it out. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]