“Tennis is probably my second favorite sport, tied with basketball,” Jimmy Butler once said. The 35-year-old NBA star who currently plays for the Golden State Warriors is a six-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA Team member, and a five-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. Despite all the basketball legacy, Butler once revealed he was going to hit the tennis court or the pickleball court after retiring from basketball. His love for tennis is no secret. But how did his love for the racket sport grow? Well, in April 2024, Butler spilled the beans about how Carlos Alcaraz’s majestic tennis helped him fall in love with the sport. Recently, while announcing the commencement of the 2025 Laver Cup from September 19 to September 21 at the Warriors’ home arena, Chase Center, the NBA star again showcased his admiration for his favorite player.

From attending major tournaments like the US Open and Roland Garros to making his presence felt at the Miami Open, Jimmy Butler never misses out on watching some quality. Last year, when he attended the Miami Open, he showered praise on Carlos Alcaraz by saying, “It’s fantastic to see Carlos, even if it’s always difficult to root for someone rather than someone else because I really respect everyone in this world of tennis… Of course, however, thanks to Alcaraz I fell in love with the game and for this reason, I became a superfan of his.”

Continuing further, Butler added, “I love how he takes care of himself, how he doesn’t give up on any ball, always smiling no matter what. It helps to be one of the best in the world, but for God’s sake, Carlos is a really good person.”

Bulter first met Carlos Alcaraz live at the Buenos Aires Open in February 2023. Alcaraz won that tournament, and ever since, their friendship has grown stronger. Recently, the official IG page of the Laver Cup shared a post featuring this NBA star where Butler could be seen talking about the iconic event, saying, “Did you hear that the Laver Cup is coming to the Chase Center? Let me teach you a few things about this event. Trust me big, big tennis guy. The tournament is a competition of two teams. Team Europe vs Team World. Team Europe’s captain is Yannick Noah, Joakim’s (former basketball player) dad, and Team World’s Captain is Andre Agassi.”

He further went on to add, “Each team is stacked with tennis superstars. Not including myself. I’ll be rooting for my boy Alcaraz, Carlitos.” After that, he went on to describe the three-day event, saying, “There are a total of five sessions played over the course of 3 days. Matches are the best of three sets, with AD scoring, with the third set being a ten-point tiebreak. Also known as the Laver breaker. Each match win is worth 1 point on Friday, 2 points on Saturday, and you guess it…3 points on Domingo. Okay…now that you know how this is going down, don’t miss out on the action in September.“

This wasn’t the first time Butler showcased his admiration for Carlos Alcaraz. Even in March 2023, he heaped praise on the Spaniard in an interview with ATPTour.com by saying, “He’s always poised. He’s never rattled and more than anything, it looks like he’s having so much fun out there. I think whenever you have fun and you have that mentality that you know you’re the best, you go out there and you play as though you’re the best, results happen and he’s not No. 1 for no reason.”

What was Alcaraz’s reaction to seeing Jimmy Bulter from such a close distance? “I feel a little bit nervous when I see a person like Jimmy, celebrities, when I was playing, like in the US Open. For me it’s unbelievable. In certain ways, I can’t believe that these people enjoy watching my matches for me. It’s crazy,” he said. In March 2024, Alcaraz attended the Miami Heat’s match against the Golden State Warriors and met both Butler and Paul Gasol.

“I admire both him and Pau Gasol because of that winning mentality, their professionalism because they want to improve every day and look at the finest of details to become a better athlete. But above all, I admire that they are great people off the court,” the Spaniard said back then.

This year, Butler again attended one of Alcaraz’s matches in Doha. The Spaniard won that match, and later invited Butler on-court for a friendly game. While sharing his thoughts on that experience, the NBA star said, “To let me go out there and live out my dream of playing against Carlos Alcaraz in front of so many people, it’s a blessing.”

Then in March, Butler was spotted yet again with Alcaraz at soccer star Paul Pogba’s birthday party in Miami. Is Alcaraz the only one who is a big fan of ‘Jimmy Buckets’, though?

Not only Carlos Alcaraz but even Coco Gauff is a big fan of Jimmy Butler

Coco Gauff, who won the US Open title in 2023, couldn’t believe when Butler came to watch her play at the Flushing Meadows. She said, “Jimmy Butler, he’s come to a couple of my matches. I still am like, ‘Man, this guy is busy, why is he coming to watch me play?’ It’s a really cool experience. I’m just happy I guess and really honored.“

Expressing her admiration for Butler further, Coco added, “He has that mentality really of, you know, no matter what the odds are against him, he’s gonna give it his all. I think he’s just one of those athletes [where] the mentality makes his game even better. You have people that are talented and don’t have the mentality.” She admitted to being inspired by Butler’s never-quit mentality on the court.

Even this year, when Butler made the switch from the Miami Heat to join his hometown team, the Golden State Warriors, Gauff was among the first ones to react to that. She said, “It’s kind of sad. I don’t know what goes on behind the doors, what we don’t see. I would say I’m disappointed. I’m obviously a fan of Jimmy’s, so I’m going to root for him regardless of where he goes. It’s a struggling time to be a Miami sports fan in general.“

Butler’s has a huge fan following among the tennis stars. Even when Madison Keys was asked to name a basketball player whom she’d love to mentor, she said, “I want to say Jimmy Butler because he’s obsessed with tennis.“

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