You know Jimmy Butler, the star NBA player. But soon, you will know Jimmy Butler, the padel athlete. That's right. His newest passion is padel, a racquet sport similar to tennis and squash.
Butler will be one of two tournament team captains at the inaugural Padel Reserve Cup tournament in Miami this week. Butler is also a partner, while Wayne Boich, founder and CEO, and former University of Miami tennis player.
When I spoke to Butler today, I asked him: “Why padel?”
"It's one more thing that I can be better than everybody else in, to tell you the truth," Butler said. "It's a rapidly growing sport for sure here in the States, but I would also say around the world."
It is.
According to a March 2023 news story by George Ramsay at CNN, 25 million people play padel in 90 countries, most notably in Europe, where it was a part of the 2023 European Games, and in Spain, home to six million players, where it is second in popularity only to football (soccer).
Wayne Boich, the organization's founder and CEO, played tennis at the University of Miami and, according to the New York Post, Boich fell in love with the sport while in Europe.
Competition is another reason Butler loves the sport. According to a June 2023 story by Michael Rosenberg for Sports Illustrated, Butler has demonstrated "an unusual competitiveness" all his life.
So, I asked Butler about competition as it relates to padel.
"I love the fact that it is kind of the same thing in all sports, all competition. You've got to find an advantage. I don't play to have fun. I play to win. Winning is fun. So if somebody on that other side of the net, if there's a weak link, I'm smacking that ball at you every single time."
But what Butler is most excited about is bringing the sport to Miami.
"We're bringing something in Reserve Cup that is relatively new, but also bringing in the best players in the world," Butler said. "It's like if you were to bring in the All-Star game for basketball to Miami, how much it would mean, or bring a Super Bowl to Miami, how much it would mean. That's what this is for... the city.”
Win or lose, one thing is clear: with Butler embracing the sport full force, the future of padel in the U.S. looks bright. His competitive spirit won't let it be anything but.